US is
obliged to support its 'old friend' Israel - Bush
The US has a responsibility to defend the State of Israel, which is "an old friend" and a "democratic country," US President George W. Bush told the French daily Le Figaro in an interview published Saturday.
Bush's affirmed commitment to Israel came in response to a question about whether successive "US presidents are obliged to defend Israel at every occasion."
Asked if this is worth the cost – increasing international criticism of the US for its "pro-Israel policy" – Bush reminded his interviewer that he was "the first US president to stand before the UN and announce to the whole world a commitment to creating a Palestinian state living side by side with Israel in peace."
Although the 2005 deadline for the creation of a Palestinian state, as envisaged in the road map, has been deemed unrealistic by the US, Bush was optimistic that it would eventually come to fruition.
The ongoing violence and the resignation of former Palestinian prime minister Mahmoud Abbas have made it impossible to keep up with the Road Map timetable, Bush said.
He added that the key to the creation of a Palestinian state is in the hands of Palestinian leaders who must be "open to reform and committed to their people.
"I am convinced that once a modern [Palestinian] leadership, keen on reform, is in place, the Palestinians will benefit from large support in the form of aid in education, health, and economic development. All this is in fact in the interest of Israel, which is keen on having a pacifist neighbor where the Palestinians have hope," said Bush.
Bush rejected claims that US policy in Iraq adds fuel to the Arab-Israeli conflict, contending "the Palestinian problem is one of territory. The Palestinians have no state and no leaders."
Bush denied that the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq has led to a rise in anti-Americanism and anti-Semitism. "As the leader of the free world, I shall continue, and the US will continue, to fight anti-Semitic currents that are clearly spreading around the world."