A fourth challenge is to resume the search for a just peace and real reconciliation for Israel, the Arab states, and the Palestinians. By reconciliation, I mean not simply peace as the absence of war, but a peace based on enduring respect, tolerance, and mutual trust. As you know, I personally had devoted considerable effort before the war to facilitating a dialogue between Israel and the Palestinians - an essential part of an overall peace process. Let's not fool ourselves. The course of this crisis has stiffed emotions among Israelis and Palestinians that will not yield easily to conciliation. Yet in the aftermath of this war, as in earlier wars, there may be opportunities for peace - if the parties are willing. And if they really are willing, we are committed to working closely with them to fashion a more effective peace process.

         The issues to be addressed are of course familiar and more challenging than ever.

How do you go about reconciling Israelis and Palestinians?
What concrete actions can be taken by each side?
What will be the role of the Arab States in facilitating this process and their own negotiations for peace with Israel?
How will regional arms control arrangements affect this process?
What is the best diplomatic vehicle for getting the process underway?
Again, we will be consulting and working very closely with our friends and all parties who have a constructive role to play in settling this conflict.

         A fifth and final challenge concerns the United States: we simply must do more to reduce our energy dependence. As the President has stressed, only a comprehensive strategy can achieve our goals. That strategy should involve energy conservation and efficiency, increased development, stockpiles and reserves, and greater use of alternative fuels. We must bring to this task the same determination we are now bringing to the war itself.

         As you can see, Mr. Chairman, some of these elements are political, some are economic, and some of necessity are related to security. That suggests that we should view security not just in military terms but as part and parcel of the broader outlook for the region. We're not going to have lasting peace and well being without sound economic growth. We're not going to have sound economic growth if nations are threatened or invaded - or if they are squandering precious resources on more and more arms. And surely finding a way for the peoples of the Middle East to work with each other will be crucial if we are to lift our eyes to a better future.

         Before closing, I would like to say a few words on another challenge we face our relations with the Soviet Union.

         The President has spoken often of a New World order in which freedom and democracy might flourish, secure from the fears of the Cold War. We have been hopeful about such an order partly because of the growing cooperation between the United States and the Soviet Union. In the fall of 1989, I described that cooperation as a search for points of mutual advantage. And this search has yielded good results. Three examples will suffice. First, over the past year, a democratic Germany, fully a member of NATO, was united in peace. The Iron Curtain has vanished and with it the Cold War. Second, the countries of Central and Eastern Europe have emerged in their own right once more, free to pursue democracy and economic liberty. Third, the Soviet Union has joined the international coalition confronting Iraqi aggression. As Foreign Minister Alexander Bessmertnykh reiterated last week, the Soviet Union continues to completely support the full implementation of UN Security Council resolutions.

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