Trip Notes by Date

January 8

Dana Perino
Assistant to the President and Press Secretary

Full Note

January 9

Dana Perino
Assistant to the President and Press Secretary

Full Note

January 10

Ed Gillespie
Counselor to the President

Full Note

January 11

Ed Gillespie
Counselor to the President

Full Note

January 12

Stephen Hadley
Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs

Full Note

January 13

Bill McGurn
Assistant to the President for Speechwriting

Full Note

January 14

Dana Perino
Assistant to the President and Press Secretary

Full Note

January 15

Dana Perino
Assistant to the President and Press Secretary

Full Note

January 15

Joshua Bolten
White House Chief of Staff

Full Note

January 16

George W. Bush
President of the United States

Ask the White House Transcript

 

Remembrance and Faith in the Holy Land

Biography

Ed Gillespie

Counselor to the President

After a later-than-usual dinner at Prime Minister Olmert’s residence last night with members of his cabinet, we were on the road early this morning to visit Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem.

A Tour of Israel’s Holocaust Museum

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It’s hard to overstate the impact felt touring Yad Vashem.  It is exceptionally well done, and brings a very personal dynamic to the historic atrocities of the Nazi Regime, including not only victims but the evil men who engaged in systematic genocide.  Our guide said the decision to feature Third Reich leaders as part of an exhibit was somewhat controversial, but the decision was justified to my mind as people’s heads nodded up and down hearing our guide make the point that these men were not “monsters,” but ordinary individuals who committed extraordinary acts of evil.

After the museum tour, President Bush on behalf of the United States rekindled the Eternal Flame at Yad Vashem and laid a wreath on a memorial slab under which are interred the remains of Jews who were among the millions murdered at six different death camps.  These actions and his thoughtful spontaneous remarks after signing the guest book provided some sense of catharsis for his quiet staff and others who toured the museum. 

Middle East Trip

A Visit to Capernaum

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From Jerusalem the President left for Capernaum on the Sea of Galilee and a visit to the House of St. Peter, then the nearby Mount of the Beatitudes.  Both are administered by the Franciscan order of the Catholic clergy, who led the President on a tour of each site.  At the Church of the Beatitudes, the President was greeted by a group of nuns who walked with him through the tour.  The President had fun on the tour, laughing with the nuns so often I joked with Chief of Staff Josh Bolten I was worried someone’s knuckles were going to get smacked with a ruler!

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The visits to these moving sites on our last day in Israel capped a very productive visit to the Holy Land. 

 

 

Next Stop: Kuwait City

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I’m writing this now from Kuwait City, where Air Force One touched down an hour ago as President Bush and Secretary Rice move on to meet with neighbors in the Gulf.  They will share with them what they heard from Prime Minister Olmert and President Abbas, and encourage these Arab leaders to support their efforts to secure an agreement that would help bring peace and stability to the Middle East. They will also talk about progress in Iraq, and the need to continue efforts to ensure that Iran is not able to gain the knowledge necessary to develop a nuclear weapon.