For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
May 18, 2001
Remarks by the President in Photo Opportunity with EP-3 Crew
The Oval Office
8:40 A.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Welcome to the Oval
Office. The Vice President and I are thrilled to be able to
look you in the eye and say, thanks for your service to the
country. I remember in my phone call saying, gosh, I hope I
can welcome you to the Oval Office, and here you are.
You handled yourselves with such class and
dignity, it was important for our nation to realize the fine caliber of
people that serve our country. And we're really proud of
you. We appreciate your mission; but most of all we
appreciate your character. And so it's my honor to welcome
you here. I look forward to giving you a tour around this
majestic office, a shrine to the greatness of America.
I want to say one other thing before we visit
informally. Today, the violence in the Middle East took on a
new level of intensity. Our country is deeply concerned,
first and foremost, for those who lost their life and for the families
affected. It is essential that the leaders in the Middle
East speak out clearly against violence.
We must break the cycle of violence in order
to begin meaningful discussions about any kind of political
settlement. My administration will continue to work with the
parties involved, reminding folks that violence will not lead to peace,
obviously. Violence will make it so difficult for there to
be any political settlement.
I'm concerned any time anybody loses
life. I'm especially concerned about suicide bombers that
have disregard for themselves and, obviously, for innocent
folks. We will continue to work hard to bring peace to that
important part of the region.
Thank you all for coming.
Q What is the latest on
the spy plane?
THE PRESIDENT: We're working to get
the plane home. We're making progress about getting the
plane home. But today we get to celebrate the fact that the
crew is home. And that's the most important thing.
END
8:45 A.M. EDT
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