Q Mr. President, on the Middle East, will
your trip to the Middle East -- I know you're
not going to Lebanon -- will it help to
stabilize Lebanon? As you know, President
Sarkozy said that he spoke to President Assad,
and he said his patience is running out --
THE PRESIDENT: Yes.
Q Was this coordinated with you? And are you
willing to speak to President Assad to end the
crisis in Lebanon?
THE PRESIDENT: No, it wasn't coordinated with
me, and my patience ran out on President Assad a
long time ago. And the reason why is, is because
he houses Hamas, he facilitates Hezbollah,
suiciders go from his country to Iraq, and he
destabilizes Lebanon. And so, if he's listening,
he doesn't need a phone call. He knows exactly
what my position is.
We are -- our view on Lebanon -- first of
all, it's very important that Lebanon --
Lebanon's democracy succeed. Secondly, as you
know, we did work with the French on 1559 to get
Syria out of Lebanon, and Syria needs to stay
out of Lebanon. Syria needs to let the process
in Lebanon work. And if they can't come to an
agreement -- I appreciate the sides trying to
work on a common ground for a president, but if
they can't come for agreement, then the world
ought to say this: that the March 14th Coalition
can run their candidate and their parliament;
majority plus one ought to determine who the
president is. And when that happens, the world
ought to embrace the president.
I'm looking forward to going to the Middle
East. I've got a couple of objectives. One is to
advance the Palestinian-Israeli peace process.
Secondly is to continue to work with our Arab
friends on reconciliation with Israel. And
finally, is to assure people in the Middle East
that we understand -- or we'll show a strong
commitment to the security of the region, and a
commitment to the security of our friends.
And it's going to be a great trip. I hope
you're going with me.
