Joe Biden: “Today the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Prince Abdullah, met with President Bush in Crawford, TX. Based on the reports…”

“Today the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Prince Abdullah, met with President Bush in Crawford, TX. Based on the reports from that meeting, there were several items on the agenda, one of which was the conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians, and the other was the nature of the Saudi-U.S. bilateral relationship. A report this morning in the New York Times said that the Crown Prince intended to deliver a "blunt message" to President Bush. Apparently, a Saudi official indicated after that meeting that oil would not be used as a weapon. Earlier, an unnamed Saudi official said that we, the United States, may face a "strategic debacle" unless we alter our relationship with Israel. There is nothing wrong with blunt messages and blunt talk between friends. I am confident the President of the United States was equally blunt in the message he delivered. No doubt the Crown Prince discussed ways to advance his initiative with regard to Israel, a breakthrough that I publicly stated several times in recent weeks has not been fully appreciated by the world. The Saudis had endorsed unanimously at the Arab League meeting last month in Beirut a plan that holds out hope for normal peaceful relations between Arab States and Israel. However, laying down that plan is not enough. It is time for more mature leadership. We have been asked by the rest of the world and the Crown Prince to take an active role in supporting this plan.”