Fleischer defends Palestinian PM

WND AT THE WHITE HOUSE Fleischer defends Palestinian PM WorldNetDaily queries spokesman about Abu Mazen's past

Editor's note: Each week, WorldNetDaily White House correspondent Les Kinsolving asks the tough questions no one else will ask. And each week, WorldNetDaily brings you the transcripts of those dialogues with the president and his spokesman. If you'd like to suggest a question for the White House, submit it to WorldNetDaily's exclusive interactive forum MR. PRESIDENT!

At today's White House news briefing, WND asked presidential press secretary Ari Fleischer about the questionable words, actions and record of new Palestinian Prime Minister Abu Mazen.

WND: Ari, President Morton Klein of the Zionist Organization of America has sent a message to the president noting that in the Palestinian Authority prime minister's first speech, he said to Yasser Arafat – this is a quote – "This government, Mr. President, is your government." And he also demanded that Israel release all of its imprisoned Palestinians. And my question, this is part one: Does this in any way surprise President Bush knowing that Abu was Arafat's top deputy for nearly 40 years, having written a book denying the Holocaust?

FLEISCHER: Lester, there are a lot of important changes underway in the leadership of the Palestinian Authority. There are a number of reformers, and the President counts Abu Mazen as one of them. And there are some interesting issues underway involving the different people in the Palestinian Authority. This is healthy; this is good that people are looking to lead the Palestinian Authority in a different direction than Yasser Arafat did. And this will be an ongoing process, and I think you'll continue to hear different things and different statements made by different Palestinians. We will continue to find the reformers and work with them.

WND: President Bush has repeatedly said that the Palestinian Authority must actively combat terrorist groups. And my question is, can you cite any evidence at all that this Palestinian Authority prime minister has taken any such action at all against Hamas, which has rejected President Bush's "road map"?

FLEISCHER: Well, it is important for the Palestinian Authority to crack down on terrorists.

FLEISCHER: It will be very difficult to make certain that a security environment is created so that Israel knows it can live in peace and security, side by side.

FLEISCHER: I would refer you to the fact that he has already made one appointment on the security front, his minister who will be in charge of security. That is a helpful appointment. And this will be an important test of the new Palestinian leadership.

That one security appointment who Fleischer is so proud of is Mohamad Dahlan whose past is anything but anti terrorist. He is the guy who tried to bring in the Karine A arms ship from Iran. This Abu Mazen mania is nonsense at this point. There is no evidence that he is any better than Arafat. He certainly cannot be confused with the Dalai Lama.

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