Deputy Assistant Secretary Gordon Gray Interview With Al-Seyassah Magazine

Mr. Gray: Sure, my pleasure, thank you to our Kuwaiti guests for participating.

Moderator: Let me introduce to Mohamed Al-Roz who is the managing editor of Al-Seyassah magazine, he'll be asking you questions today. Before we get started, he's asked to take a minute; our photographer will take a picture of him with the screen here so he'll have a visual for the newspaper.

Mr. Gray: Okay.

Moderator: It will just take a few seconds.

Mr. Gray: Great.

Moderator: How's the weather in Washington this morning?

Mr. Gray: Very nice. Thank you for all your help on this.

Moderator: Sure, you bet. We're having actually a dust storm here today in Kuwait. So, it's about 0850 your time, we've got here Mr. Al-Roz and he'll be asking the questions. We also have on my left here Iqbal Saleh who works for Al-Seyassah magazine as well. She's one of the well-known reporters who I know very well. She will be translating Mr. Al-Roz's questions to you, he'll be speaking in Arabic and Iqbal here will translate them into English and you're free to speak in English of course. We'll record your questions and then we'll review the translation as well as checking the translation before they publish it. We've agreed to that, we'll definitely make sure that whatever you say sir we have an accurate translation in the Arabic report.

Mr. Gray: Okay

Moderator: Mr. Al-Roz has your biography so I'm not going to take up your time, he knows who you are and he's very delighted to have you here today so with that I think we'll just get started, our time is running short and I'll hand it over to Mr. Al-Roz for the first question.

Q: Good morning Mr. Gray.

Mr. Gray: Good morning, good afternoon in your case.

Q: Yes, I'm going to ask the first question actually; many observers wonder why the US has a very rigid position regarding the Iranian Nuclear Program as compared to its position toward the North Korean Program.

A: Thank you for the question, you're asking about a very important issue which is the issue of nuclear non-proliferation and safety and security of the people not just of the Persian Gulf region but also of Northeast Asia. I would not say that the United States has a rigid position and I think it is a mistake to look at this in terms of either a U.S. Iranian issue or U.S. North Korean issue. In both cases, the United States and the international community have worked very well together through the United Nations to impose sanctions to try and dissuade the Iranian regime in one case and the North Korean regime in another case from pursuit of nuclear weapons, a pursuit that is not going to assist either country I think in both cases we have achieved some success in New York with the imposition of the sanctions regimes and I think in both cases the will of the international community has been made clear.

Q: Secretary Rice warned that all solutions are possible with Iran; meanwhile, Secretary Gates excluded the military solution. Officials in the U.S. administration say that Washington's choice is to exercise pressure on Iran, without excluding other possibilities. What is truth about your position with Iran's nuclear program? And how far do you expect to get with a man such as Ahmmady Najad?

A: Well, I think that, I'm not familiar with the quotation you ascribed to Secretary Gates but it is long been U.S. policy that the President never takes any options off the table Secretary Rice made that clear previous presidents (inaudible)

Moderator: Mr. Gray, can you please repeat your answer because we have some audio problems we cannot hear you clearly, please repeat your answer.

A: What I started to say about the point of view you ascribed to Secretary Gates, but Secretary Rice, the President and certainly their predecessors have always that the President never takes any options off the table. That being said, as I mentioned when I answered your first question, we have a very clear record of trying to engage this issue through the international community. If you look at the track record of our efforts with the international community, we first fully supported the efforts of the EU-3 Britain, France, and Germany to find a diplomatic solution. That did not work, we then worked through the International Atomic Energy Agency, that did not work. We then moved the issue diplomatically to the Security Council where on December 22 we did get a very important (inaudible) resolution imposing sanctions. I think the commitment of the United States to a diplomatic solution is clear throughout the (inaudible)

Q: Has the U.S. administration rejected the terms of the Baker-Hamilton report? Or has some terms been accepted such as getting Sunnis more actively involved in governing Iraq's affairs and distributing the wealth from oil revenues more equally amongst them which are Iraqi Sunnis?

A: I think that the parts of the Baker-Hamilton report that you mentioned address the need for national reconciliation within Iraq and the need for all communities within Iraq to feel part of the government to have a stake in making sure that a stable and unified Iraq is promoted and is realized and I think that the same goals are evident in the President's plan which he announced to the nation and indeed to the world in his speech on January 10. I don't think that there's any question that former Secretary Baker and former Congressman Hamilton share the goals of the President and I would say the goals of the people in the region which is to speak to lower the level of sectarian violence that we've seen in Iraq. That's obviously what's best for the people of Iraq, it's what's best for the people in the region, and I think is the long-term solution to seeing a more stable and peaceful Iraq.

Q: President Bush has called on killing all Iran's assistants in Iraq and some describe that like a terrorism appeal, how do you see this matter and do this appeal apply on Hezbollah in Lebanon considering that he is an ally for Iran?

A: I'm sorry I'm not understanding the question, do you mind repeating it?

Moderator: Do you want to ask it? One second sir. We'll get it correctly in Arabic and then translate it for you sir.

Q: The Question says that the call of President Bush to eliminate or kill Iran's allies in Iraq, some people consider it as a terrorist appeal, do you think that would also apply to Hezbollah in Lebanon being an ally of Iran?

A: I don't accept the premise of the question. I think what you're getting at is the president in his remarks he's made publicly and certainly this month and then certainly the comments that Secretary Rice and Secretary Gates have given in testimony on Capitol Hill have made it clear that the United States and the coalition can no longer afford to sit idly by when Iranian surrogates in Iraq take actions that threaten the lives of our troops. Our troops who are there with the agreement of the government of Iraq and as the president said that we're going to be taking more robust actions to defend our troops and if that means interjecting the weapons that are being provided to insurgents in Iraq who then try to use to kill our troops or coalition troops, we will do that. If that means arresting and detaining agents of Iran or their surrogates, we will do that. We will do that as well. Do I see that happening in Lebanon? No, there's no coalition troop presence in Lebanon as there is in Iraq.

Q: The situation in Lebanon is getting worse, and continues to escalate. What does the U.S. intend to do particularly with the government of Fouad Al-Sanyoura Would Washington allow Iran and Syria to achieve political successes in Lebanon?

A: I'm not sure that the situation is Lebanon is getting worse, and the reason I say is that is we've seen a concerted attempt by Iran and Syria and its surrogates to try and displace the democratically elected government of Lebanon. There is certainly no question that there's been the intention, but I think that Prime Minister Sanyoura has stood up very effectively to that pressure. I think that the conference that we saw on Thursday in Paris showed a great deal of support for the democratically elected government of Lebanon and most importantly for the people of Lebanon. So, I would a little bit of issue with saying that the situation is getting worse. I think if you look over the past few years, it's important to look at some of the progress that's been made and one of the key elements of that progress (inaudible) Syrian troops no longer occupy Lebanon as there used to be and that's the direct result of diplomatic coordination through the UN Security Council.

Q: Hezbollah says that it has won the war of July 2006 with Israel; and that it would win its war with the U.S., and its policy in Lebanon; what is your comment?

A: Well, it's hard for me to take that claim seriously in an intellectual sense. I think it's a propaganda claim, Nasrallah admitted in an interview after the war ended that he had miscalculated and he did not expect what happened to happen. And, I think it's important to look at the people of Lebanon, are they better as a result of the reckless adventure of some of this group that's trying to be a state within the state and the question is no. And I think Hezbollah has tried to regain some of its influence by trying to unseat the democratically elected government and it has been blocked by the popular will of the Lebanese people.

Q: Syria and its allies in Lebanon accuse you of pushing Lebanon towards sectarian civil war, and sectarian federalism; what is your comment?

A: Well, I think it's interesting that such quarters are making such allegations given the track record as I mentioned before until recently Syria was an occupying force in Lebanon and I think it is probably making such reckless accusations because it wants to obscure its own record of having occupied Lebanon. There's nothing further from the truth, we've worked very hard to try and support the people of Lebanon be it through financial contributions which as the Secretary announced in Paris now totaled 1 billion dollars. If it concerns work with other allies to try and strengthen the central institutions of Lebanon so the people of Lebanon can govern themselves.

Q: Do you believe that the Syrian regime would change to the better?

A: Do I think it will? We certainly, to be a diplomat, one must always be optimistic. I think it's not just the United States but many of Syria's friends and neighbors have been disappointed with Syria's track record. As a diplomat I must (inaudible) but as an analyst I haven't' seen any signs that they are, the Syrian regime is improving its (inaudible) in terms of ending its support of terrorist groups or the like.

Q: In the Government of Shaykh Sabah Al-Ahmed, how do you see Kuwait's role both in the GCC and in the Arab world in general?

A: I think that Kuwait deserves a great deal of praise for its leadership role. Within the GCC, I would note that Kuwait recently hosted the meeting of the foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Jordan, Egypt, and the United States and I think that by (inaudible) it really affirmed its leadership role and both within the GCC and within the Arab World. I think it's also important to look at some of the steps that Kuwait has taken internally. We've seen recently elections, just I guess it was seven months ago now, just about seven months ago to the day, as a matter of fact. Seven months ago we saw parliamentary elections, these were not just fairly conducted but they were also elections that for the first time, and I don't have to tell you this, women were allowed to vote. That's a very important step forward. There is a vibrant civil society. Both parliament and civil society (inaudible) very vigorously and very freely and I think that is a model both for the people of the GCC and for the region in general.

Moderator: I think that's it, we're at 0850 your time. Do you have time for one more?

Mr. Gray: I think I'm about to leave the room, if it's a short question I can take one more a quick one.

Q: Some (inaudible) in the Gulf area concerned about the explosion of the situation in Iran and they are wondering who can ensure the protection for this area in this case, so what is your opinion about that?

A: I think that the governments and the people of the Gulf are right to be concerned about Iranian behavior and the Iranian record, unfortunately, is all too clear. Be it meddling in Iraq, be it meddling in Kuwait in previous year, be it meddling in the affairs of other countries in the GCC, or be it even occupying the three islands that rightly belong to the United Arab Emirates. All that being said, I think that working together with the United States and working together with the international community that the safety and security of the countries in the Gulf region those goals can be met, I think that you will continue to find that the United States is a reliable security partner.

Moderator: Sir, thank you very much, we really appreciate you're taking time out of your (inaudible) to talk with us today.

Mr. Gray: (inaudible) I hope we can continue this discussion, thank you very much.