PLO Ambassador to Lebanon Abbas Zaki: We Consider the U.S to Be an Enemy Country

Following are excerpts from an interview with PLO Ambassador to Lebanon Abbas Zaki, which aired on OTV on November 7, 2008.

Abbas Zaki: We consider the U.S. to be an enemy because its only strategic alliance is with Israel.

Interviewer: How could you possibly accept your enemy in your land?

Abbas Zaki: What do you mean? We meet even with Israel.

Interviewer: How can you consider Israel to be your enemy, if you signed a peace treaty with it?

Abbas Zaki: Allow me... This enemy... If I had the capabilities of the U.S. – would I be fighting it or negotiating with it?

Interviewer: Israel ceased being an enemy once you signed a peace treaty with it. I don’t know how it could be your enemy. Do you talk to the Israelis as if they were your enemies? Do you talk to Israel as a friendly or enemy country?

Abbas Zaki: An enemy country, which owes us certain things. The heroic Vietnamese used to negotiate with the French, while they were slaughtering them.

Interviewer: I can assure you that in his speeches, Abu Mazen says the U.S. is a friendly country.

Abbas Zaki: Well, this isn’t true. Perhaps Abu Mazen, in his position, needs to use diplomatic language, but he is the greatest critic of the U.S.