Powell Remarks with Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ahmed Maher
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE Office of the Spokesman For Immediate Release September 26, 2001
Remarks By Secretary Of State Colin L. Powell And Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ahmed Maher After Their Meeting
September 26, 2001 C Street Entrance Washington, D.C.
SECRETARY POWELL: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. It has been my pleasure to host my dear friend and good
colleague, the Foreign Minister of Egypt, Minister Maher. We have had a good conversation, reviewing the situation in
the Middle East, in light of the developments of today, with a successful meeting between Minister Shimon Peres and
Chairman Arafat. And we will both be working closely together to assist the Palestinians and the Israelis to move
forward from this new beginning.
And we have also had a good discussion of the events of September 11th , and what we have been doing together since
then. I expressed my appreciation to the Minister and, through him, to President Mubarak for the strong words of support
and for the condolences we have received from the Egyptian people and I, in turn, extended my regrets to the families of
the Egyptians who were lost in the World Trade Center.
And I also expressed my appreciation for the commitment that Egypt has made to working with us as we move forward to
deal with the scourge of terrorism. Egypt, as all of us know, is really ahead of us on this issue. They have had to deal
with acts of terrorism in recent years in the course of their history. And we have much to learn from them and there is
much we can do together.
So I welcome my colleague and I look forward to continued cooperation with him, his associates, and with the Egyptian
Government as we move forward on this campaign.
Mr. Minister.
FOREIGN MINISTER MAHER: Thank you, Mr. Secretary. It is always a pleasure to meet with you, even in difficult
circumstances. Because the message I brought was a message of reiterating our condolences and reiterating our solidarity
-- the solidarity of the Egyptian people, President and Government with the United States -- and our determination to
work together in the fight against terrorism.
As the Secretary said, we have suffered from terrorism, and it is only normal that we should join any attempt to get rid
of this scourge from which the world has suffered and continues to suffer.
We are cooperating with the United States in many ways and we have discussed this matter. We have discussed our opinions
and we exchange ideas about the best way to do that. We believe that the United States, as the government of a country
that believes in law and justice, will act on the basis of a case -- a good case -- and I am sure they have a good case
-- against the culprits who committed this horrible crime of September 11th.
We also talked about the necessity of establishing an international consensus around this fight, which is manifold and
will take a long time. I explained our ideas about the international conference, which is not a substitute for the
necessity to punish the culprits.
We also discussed the Middle East question and the role that the Secretary, personally, and the United States Government
have played in bringing together the meeting that took place this morning between Chairman Yasser Arafat and Shimon
Peres, which was a promising meeting and development. And we both are determined to continue to help both parties to
reach the stage where they can resume, after the implementation of the Tenet and Mitchell recommendations, they can
resume negotiations on the final status negotiations.
I come out of this meeting reassured, and our friendship, as I can report to you, is as strong today as it has always
been. Thank you very much.
QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, there are many people who are arguing now, in the Pentagon or even on the Capitol, to have more
targets, and specifically for a new military campaign in the Middle East and other countries in the world. What do you
think about this?
SECRETARY POWELL: Well, I don't know about those reports. But what we are focusing on is terrorism and going after
terrorists, not only those who are responsible for this event on the 11th of September, but who are responsible for
other terrorist activities of a global reach.
We are not using this as a way to punish nations indiscriminately. I can assure you that President Bush sees this as a
long-term campaign that he will pursue with patience and perseverance, in close consultation with our friends and
allies.
QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, with the new development in Gaza, would you like to comment on this new security zone in the
West Bank?
SECRETARY POWELL: We are in discussions with our Israeli colleagues about their ideas for security. And I think with the
progress that we have seen in today's meeting and knowing that other meetings are coming up, that all issues in
contention such as this are available to be put on the table as these meetings go forward. And we will be following that
progress and taking a more active role as the meetings begin to one follow the other.
QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, the President went to the CIA today and forcefully defended the job that George Tenet has been
doing. Do you feel that you are getting the information that you need from him to do your job?
And, Mr. Minister, could you comment on how Mr. Tenet is viewed in Egypt and the Middle East?
SECRETARY POWELL: From my standpoint, George Tenet is doing an absolutely outstanding job. I consider him not only a
trusted friend, but a great working colleague. He is providing to the State Department all that I would expect from the
CIA. We have excellent relations between the CIA and the INR Bureau that does intelligence here in the State Department.
And I certainly share the President's judgment that Director Tenet is doing a terrific job.
FOREIGN MINISTER MAHER: The only comment I would make about your question is to tell you that George Tenet has many
friends in my country.
QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, we have heard this administration say time and again it is not into nation building in
Afghanistan. But, clearly, if the Taliban continues to stand in the way of bin Laden and the terrorist network, is the
US Government going to remove the Taliban or encourage other groups within Afghanistan to go after the Taliban? If so,
who fills the void?
SECRETARY POWELL: As our campaign unfolds, you will see we are going after the al-Qaida network, we are going after
Usama bin Laden. We are going to do it in a way that is mindful of the suffering that is currently being inflicted upon
the Afghan people. And, hopefully, a better day is ahead for the Afghan people.
But, right now, I am not prepared to say, nor is the United States Government prepared to say, how they might be
governed in the future or what might be the fate of the Taliban regime. As the President has said in his speech and as
we have said repeatedly, those who provide a haven or harbor this kind of terrorist organization must be prepared to pay
consequences for their actions.
Thank you.
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