go back to violence or confrontation. And we together will be the leaders in order that peace would prevail on our land and the land of our neighbors, and peace be with you all.

PRESIDENT CLINTON: Ladies and gentlemen, many kind things have been said about the efforts of the American delegation and the hours that I spent at Wye Plantation, every one of which I treasured -- some more than others.

But in truth, all that was required of us was a listening ear and a helpful suggestion now and then and a kind of a determination to keep us all moving forward.

It is a little too easy, I think, sometimes for people who are not directly themselves parties to a peace negotiations, to believe they truly understand the judgments that the parties themselves must make and how difficult they are and what price they might carry. I think, as hard as we tried not to fall prey to that, from time to time we did. I know we did because there are people on both sides smiling at me just now, as I speak.

So the lion's share of the credit belongs to Prime Minister Netanyahu and Chairman Arafat and their close aides.

But His Majesty King Hussein provided an element quite different from what the United States brought to these negotiations, for he reminded us of what rises above the facts, the arguments, the legitimate interests, even the painful sacrifices involved. He was the living embodiment of the best of our past and the brightest of our hopes for the future. And every time he was in the room, he made us all become a little closer to the people we all would like to see ourselves as being. For that, we and the world are immeasurably in his debt.

Your Majesty.

KING HUSSEIN I ( Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan ): Mr. President, Mr. Vice President; Ms. Albright, secretary of state; my friend Sandy Berger; and of course all our friends here and all our friends who played such a vital part in the last few days in which I was privileged to be an observer and one who sought to give courage to the process that was ongoing.

George Tenet.

And as the president said, Dennis has lost his black hair and replaced it with gray. I have lost all mine and even my eyebrows!

But this is part of the life in which we live, and -- I was privileged to be with you all, and no matter what, I would have been. If I had an ounce of strength, I would have done my utmost to be there and to help in any way I can.

By the way, many in our part of the world, in different parts of the world, have written me off.

But I have a lot of faith in God and I believe that one lives one's destiny. And as far as I am concerned, my morale is the highest it has ever been, and this has been a shot in the arm for me, what you have accomplished today, President Arafat and Prime Minister Netanyahu.

I recall discovering past events over many years, and one thing that remained with me throughout those many years was a total commitment to the cause of peace. We quarrel, we agree, we are friendly, we are not friendly, but we have no right to dictate through

<12>