Signs indicate trouble ahead for President Bushs road map according to the first national post-Aqaba poll

At a press conference at the National Press Club at 10:00 a.m. tomorrow morning, the Center for Security Policy will reveal the results of a national poll conducted last week in the wake of the Aqaba summit between President Bush, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas. The poll addresses issues bearing on the contents and prospects of the President’s “road map” for Mideast peace. Its results signal strong majorities in favor of a tough line towards Palestinian terrorism — and potential problems for President Bush if he pursues a strategy that gives rise to a “Palestine” that is yet another regional state-sponsor of terrorism.

The poll, conducted by Luntz Research Companies involved a nationwide sample of 700 adult Americans, with a margin of error of 3.7%. Of particular interest are the large majorities nationwide that favor the key preconditions inherent in the “vision” for peace articulated last June by President Bush, but absent from the road map. These include: the requirement for genuinely “new” leadership of the Palestinians, the need to dismantle the Palestinian terrorist infrastructure and the necessity for an end to Palestinian incitement before the U.S. would be willing to recognize a Palestinian state. Frank Luntz will join Center President Frank J. Gaffney, Jr. in the Press Club’s Zenger Room to discuss the methodology used in, and the findings of, this poll.

The Center’s new poll also sampled the opinions of 265 Christian conservatives — a core part of President Bush’s political constituency. Also present will be former presidential candidate Gary Bauer, a former domestic policy advisor to President Reagan, and a leading conservative evangelical. He will address the concerns of Christian conservatives and other people of faith in regard to the Middle East peace process.

Where:

The National Press Club, Zenger Room, 13th Floor 14th and F. Streets, N.W.

When:

10:00 a.m., 17 June 2003

Who:

Frank J. Gaffney, Jr., President and CEO, the Center for Security Policy

Frank Luntz, President, the Luntz Research Companies

Gary Bauer, President, American Values