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Skriven 2005-05-23 23:33:10 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (050523c) for Mon, 2005 May 23
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Mrs. Bush's Interview in Egypt by CBS, "The Early Show"
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For Immediate Release
Office of the First Lady
May 23, 2005

Mrs. Bush's Interview in Egypt by CBS, "The Early Show"
Giza Plateau, Egypt



1:14 P.M. (Local)

Q Good morning.

MRS. BUSH: Good morning, Harry.

Q First, let's talk about these visits that you made over the weekend,
first to the Western Wall, and also to the Dome of the Rock, two of the
holiest places --

MRS. BUSH: That's right.

Q -- in both the Jewish and Muslim religions. Did you ever feel you were in
any danger there?

MRS. BUSH: No, I did not at all. And I think maybe the reports that you all
have seen have been slightly exaggerated. The crowds were mainly
photographers, as you might guess, the press. And I never felt at all
unsafe, and no one in my party felt unsafe at all.

Q Okay, that's good to note. On the other hand, it seems to me you must
have felt some of the depth of the passions, though, of the people who live
in the respective areas that you visited.

MRS. BUSH: Well, these are some of the most holy places, like you just
said. And, of course, they're where -- in Jerusalem where there is a
longtime desire for some sort of settlement between the Palestinians and
the Israelis, emotions always run high. These are very, very emotional
places. They're sacred places to religions, including this morning when I
went to the church at Emmaus, where Jesus revealed himself to the two
disciples. But this morning at the place where I went, which is actually an
Arab town, in Abu Gosh, where this beautiful 12th century church is still
-- there and like in very, very many parts of Israel, Jews and Muslims and
Christians live in peace with each other.

And when I met with Israeli women yesterday and Palestinian women
yesterday, that's what they want. And they also want the United States to
be involved. They think it's important for the United States to be a part
of the peace process as they come to the table with each other. And it
looks like we're closer than we've been in a long time to the prospect of a
peace and a free Palestinian state side-by-side with a safe and secure
Israel. And that's very, very encouraging.

Q Let me ask you a question. The President, recently back from his trip to
Russia and the former Soviet bloc nations -- we find out now for a fact
that the grenade that was found in Tbilisi was armed. It was not a dud.
When you hear about that, when you understood the severity and just how
close the President may have come to a real, honest-to-goodness
assassination attempt, what goes through you?

MRS. BUSH: Well, of course, when we heard about it, we were already almost
home to the United States. And thank God nothing did happen and that
grenade did not go off, because, of course, many, many other people would
have been harmed if it had.

We still remember that day in Georgia with very, very great feelings of
friendship for the Georgian people. The square was filled with over 100,000
people. The night before we'd had a wonderful, friendly dinner with
President Saakashvili and his wife. And Georgia is another country that is
an example to all of us trying to build a democracy. They had the Rose
Revolution, and now they're working on their own country. And thank God the
grenade did not go off.

Q Closing thought: You were in Jordan; you stood on Mount Nebo. This is the
place where Jews and Christians understand that Moses stood and was --

MRS. BUSH: That's right.

Q -- had the opportunity to view the Promised Land. What was that
experience like?

MRS. BUSH: Well, that was a wonderful experience to be on Mount Nebo. It's
so magnificent. You can see the Dead Sea. And on a very clear day, you can
see all the way to Jericho from there. But each of these spots have been
very, very moving to me -- to go to the Western Wall, to leave my prayer at
the Western Wall, to go to the Dome of the Rock, to see these sites that
are so important to three great religions that all came from the Holy Land.
And what it reminds all of us, and certainly reminds me, is how important
this area is for the world.

Q Mrs. Bush, we thank you so much for your time this morning. We do
appreciate it very, very much.

MRS. BUSH: Thank you, Harry.

END 1:22 P.M. (Local)

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