William H. Frist: “the past 2 days I have taken the opportunity to come to the Senate to discuss my recess trip last week to the Middle…”

“the past 2 days I have taken the opportunity to come to the Senate to discuss my recess trip last week to the Middle East. As I mentioned yesterday, it was a fascinating experience that allowed me a firsthand glimpse of the complicated challenges facing the region. At each of my stops I had the opportunity to meet with top officials, community leaders, and I made a point of visiting with opposition candidates. With each conversation I became more convinced that despite the deep differences that divide them, each party wants peace, wants prosperity, and each side knows that dialog is the way forward. Tuesday I spoke of my meetings in Israel. Yesterday I reported on my visit to the West Bank. Today I will briefly comment on my time in Cairo, Egypt. We arrived on May 5 to a jampacked city of over 20 million people. We first met with President Hosni Mubarak, a lively and engaged and obviously well-informed man. We had an open and frank discussion about many of the issues facing the country, as well as the region at large. In particular, President Mubarak expressed his strong belief in American leadership in the issues surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts. We both agreed America is uniquely positioned to help both the Israelis and the Palestinians bridge their differences. We also agreed Egypt is critical to advancing this peace.…”