AUG 25, 2001
Bush Criticizes Arafat on Terrorism
By DAVID E. SANGER
CRAWFORD, Tex., Aug. 24 — President Bush today issued one of his harshest critiques yet of Yasir Arafat, the Palestinian leader, saying he must "put 100 percent effort into solving the terrorist activity" before peace talks can begin.
At a news conference here, near his sprawling ranch, Mr. Bush once again called on both Israel and the Palestinians to "show restraint on all fronts." But he made it clear that he was directing most of his criticism at Mr. Arafat, and he walked up to the edge of suggesting that the Palestinian calls for peace talks are disingenuous.
"Do we hear the Palestinians call for discussions?" he asked. "Of course we do. But my attitude is, if they are that interested in peaceful dialogue, they ought to do everything they can to stop the terrorist activity that has accelerated in recent months."
Mr. Bush is under growing pressure, including pressure from Republican foreign policy experts, to put the United States at the middle of such talks. He has resisted, and today he said Washington would take a major role only when "the will is there" on both sides to proceed with talks.
Also today, the director general of the Israeli Defense Ministry, Amos Yaron, asked Deputy Secretary of State Richard L. Armitage to help calm the Syrian border, where Hezbollah guerrillas have moved close to Israeli forces.
"We ask our American friends to send the right message to Bashar al-Assad that there is no intention from our side to escalate the situation," Mr. Yaron said, referring to Syria's leader.
Copyright 2001 The New York Times Company
