>> no one knows what's going on. so i mean, you should do anything that you can in order to bring him back home. but, you know, what, i had a few interesting comments from our

countries, and they would say i wish my country would take care of me. i wish my country would care about me so much instead of shooting me in the streets, they would do anything to bring me back, you know? it might seem as weakness, but i don't see that, that way. we care about our people. >> i'm going to wrap up one last question so i can turn over to the audience, but what do you think and what do you hope your father's legacy will be? >> my father was always, he the remembered as a historic leader. every political boundary, he enjoyed unmentionable support. but, you know, what, not only in

israel. he had very close relations with our leaders. i remember the egyptian president on december 2004 saying sharon is the only chance for peace. this was said after four years of continuous war against palestinian terror, and i remember the story about king abdullah, king abdullah who inherited his respect and love towards my father from his father, king hussein. when my father was prime minister, they were so close that king abdullah went to get my father as a present a beautiful purebred arabian horse. now, my father told the king looked, and the prime minister's office basement we have a room full of presidents that the prime minister gets. what will they do with the horse down there? [laughter] will they type the horse or feed the horse?

and so, the jordanians drop the subject worldwide. but then israeli paper published with the horses in the background, the horse in the stable. so the whole issue is raised again. and we were just that close from a diplomatic incident. and the king was insulted. why was my father refusing to get his present? and so, at the end of the horse was left in the kings stables in jordan, but sometimes when i ride my horse, sometimes they ask me, is that the kings horse? now my horse is a beautiful horse, and it is not a gift from the king. it was not only -- prime minister blair, while i was doing my research for the book

on march 2010, he told me i had huge respect for your father. he was a courageous man and a visionary leader. and when i was invited to the oval office, to president bush on july 2008, he told me i admired your dad. and so, i think this is how he will always be remembered. >> thank you very much. >> thank you. >> now it's time for questions from the rest of the. so if you would come to the microphones and laying a. i would ask that people keep your questions breathe. you're certainly entitled to express your opinions but we just want to get as many people as possible. we will turn it on when it is time to start. hang on. if each of you would keep your questions breathe i would be grateful. if they gone too long i will have to ask you to wrap up. go ahead. >> as you're speaking speaking about humanitarian issues, how

do you take it, israel has a military in palestine, the state does not have the military but yet you guys continue to give them a curfew. you also recognize genocide happening in palestine by the israeli troops? >> saying that the palestinians could not have troops, i was a most of the terror attacks during the year that my father was prime minister were committed by palestinian authority forces. the presidential guard. so i would say that they don't have any forces. the problem that the forces, instead fighting terror, they were committing terror. >> you did not answer whatever questions about the curfew in palestine. >> sari? >> the curfew in palestine. >> he's asking you about the curfew in palestine. the times by which people have to be in their homes, and so

keeping people off the streets in evening. >> you know, i don't know if, you a young man. i don't think you have any kids. but if you would have i guess you would feel very bad if your kids school would be fired or if your school bus, my kids school bus, the yellow one, was the driving, somebody took an antitank missile, aimed and pushed the trigger while knowing it is a yellow bus. so we do everything to protect our kids, all right? and our measures, i would say by far, been humanitarian in what you see in the arab countries, for their own people. >> i'm sure you probably are remembered for many of the things, too, such as the massacre with the infamous unit 101 such as domestic your when he was defense minister, such as the massacre in 2002 along with

a long list of other heinous crimes which is too numerous to list right now. so i'm really curious to know clearly, was there some sort of traumatic experience on the children that later turned him into a brutal sociopaths, that he became during his political career? [applause] >> do i get the impression that you do not like my father, right? [laughter] >> i think that's reasonable to say. [inaudible] >> hold on. if you want to ask a question, i'm going to ask you to come down to the microphone. we are being taped, and yelling from the audience is not going to any part of the conversation. everyone in this room is welcomed to come down to the microphones and ask questions. >> it was not a massacre there. unfortunately, when democracies like the u.s. or israel, sometimes civilians do get hurt, but the difference is that

terrorists are looking for civilians, intentionally. spent women and children were murdered at the same time, quote unquote terrorist to your father. anyone who is in the way of the settlement. >> you talk so fast and my english is so, you know -- >> it's your morals are more concerned about. >> you need to slow down serve. it is difficult to understand you from the stage. if you have something to say, i would also ask you to sit civilly. please say it slowly. >> i want to go to, you ask a question about -- [inaudible] >> sure. this was a heavy crime. terrible tragedy but we should remember, those were christian arabs who murdered muslim arabs. >> your own commission held a person responsible and said he should never serve in government again which is the best advice any of your commissions have ever given, i think.

>> you are wrong about commission conclusion. they said that there was not a single israeli that was involved, or that knew in advance. they said he should have known. that's what they said. and "time" magazine published an article on february 1983 suggesting that my father encourage the christian to murder the palestinians. and so my father immediately decided to sue. i was with him on the very first day of the trial in new york. and the days after, and both courts in the united states and in israel found that that was false, defamatory, and the people in the magazine acted carelessly. and so, all you say is wrong. you are wrong. [inaudible] >> also found him responsible. so both investigative bodies found him responsible.

many other incidences throughout the years, starting with his involvement and going all the way up to his death in 2006 when he was still expanding the settlement. the european foreign commissioner has said am reminded us again in august 2011, all settlements under international law are completely illegal. there is no excuse for any type of settlement in the territories. he was furiously expanding the settlements. [inaudible] >> you know, regarding the west bank, why wasn't there any palestinian state established between 48 and 67? let me ask you another question. why would the palestinians in their own charter that was published on june 1964, 3 years before the six-day war, they wrote an article 24 that they

have no wishes to have any sovereignty over west bank or gaza. why would they say that? do you know why? because what you refer as the occupation is the excuse and not the reason. and the problem is that we will never accept it, our right to have a jewish state in the area was never accepted in the area. that's the reason we are not shown on the maps in which we have peace with or with jordan. and, of course, not the palestinian authority. because they do not recognize our rights to have a jewish state. in israel -- >> i'm going to go to another questioner at this point because i think you've had more than enough opportunity. if we have a chance, come back later. [applause] >> hello? as a palestinian american, who strongly dislike your father, i

would like to take the time to thank you for coming today, and my question was, your father once told her as 10 years ago in october a quote, and about been wondering about this quote. he said every time we do something, you tell me america will do this and will do that. i want to do something very clear. don't worry about american pressure on issue. we the jewish people control america and america's know it. what did he know that? >> that is false. he never said that. >> and israeli radio reported he said that. >> that is false. he would never say that because he never thought that. >> i know it is widely known he said that. >> you believe that what i'm telling you that is not right. spin if you want to speak please come down to the microphone but everyone is welcome to offer their views. where happy --

>> he won't admit he said that he was actually told he should watch what he said or they'll be a lot of drama and international community. >> i know my father pretty well and i know this is not something he thought or believed in or whatever say. >> i suspect you'll have to agree to disagree. go ahead. >> i would also like to take the time to thank you for coming to the university. you recently visited a new york to talk about your book, and you ask if he felt remorse for the camps where thousands were slaughtered under idf control. when sharon was defense minister. you said and ago, no, we did not murder those palestinian. my question is why did he allow those christians to enter the camp and why did he not stop at? >> first, those wars, christian arms who killed muslim arabs. no jews were involved. and second, it was their own

capital. this was not our business inside who was going to rule beirut. we just wanted the plo go out from there because they were firing at our settlements and our towns and our cities in the north. the whole gala they was being fired for years. now, it is full with military targets, but no, they were aiming on us, they were looking for civilians. so the idea to go in and stop that, it was a terrible tragedy. not the first one and not the last one in lebanon. and 76, christian spilled under killed palestinians. in 76, palestinians killed christians in the home. shiites killed christians,

christians killed christians, syrians killed palestinians. they all kill each other but no one seemed to care. only when they thought they might get the israelis involved somehow, everybody started to care about that. spent going back to what you%, i know it was the christians but sharon was defense minister so he had the power to stop them. so why didn't he? >> well, -- >> i'm second we need speakers at the microphone only. you can't be heard by the rest of the audience. >> he did not see in advance, he did not think something like that would happen. unfortunately, it happened. not for the first time in lebanon and not for the last time, unfortunately. >> i'm wondering, and it may be unfair to ask you what your father might think of something that he has not been able to observe himself, but what do you think the future of israel and its international relationships will look like, and what you

think your father would have thought of those things given his history with the country surrounding israel? >> i'm not sure that we see democratic reforms. we did see elections in tunisia, but in egypt for instance, mubarak left and military junta in power now. freedom of speech is even less than it used to be. in syria we can all see what's going on. in saudi arabia women might be able to drive in four years. that would be a big achievement. and so, i'm not sure that we are going to see western democracies like we would wish to see. most probably we will see more of the same, or even worse.

radically islamic regimes might take power. i don't know. and so, we have because of that to be very careful regarding who we give and what do we give. >> thank you for coming. there's an interesting article published, i'm not sure if it was this morning or yesterday's "new york times" which discuss condoleezza rice's memoir which is to be released soon, and it discussed the plans that the confidential conversations regarding potential secrets settlement agreement between the israelis and palestinians. and basically it outlined it was put on the table, here's the map of the jerusalem in the outlying areas, less internationalized jerusalem, here's how we are going to divide a settlement

into a land exchange roughly equivalent to 94% of the west bank. was that something that was initiated by your father? would he have approved of it, or is that something that omar was liquid into a position to do based on your father's incapacity? >> no, my father never saw a thing like that and would not approve it. >> this question isn't about your father. it's about your perceptions i would be interested in. i think here in the united states, i followed the conflict for as long as 30 years or so, and i think in the united states, in the l, and i think in the united states, in the last two, three, four years, there's been a bit of a change in terms of the sort of american perception of the conflict. and i think i'm not speaking out of turn to say that perhaps, you know, a larger percentage, i

don't know what percentage, but a larger percentage of americans are starting to feel a certain impatience with israel, where israel and united states are allies. but i think this, from what i've read and from what i hear, when i talk to people, there is less patience for israel, not that people think israel is all wrong and palestinians are all right or vice versa. but sort of a sense that israel is the more empowered of the actors and that this is just an impatience that israel, perhaps doesn't take advantage of the things it could to stimulate peace or testing the peace talks, or just get the process moving. you are popular with j street which is, you know, developed in response to i think the sort of longtime traditional position in the united states, you know, support for israel, sort of an overwhelming support now a more questioning support.

my question, a lot of preamble, sorry, my question is, is israel is there a perception within israel of this feeling within the united states, within this, you know, do people initial talk about it? do they feel that? and also within israel, is there any, you know, i read the jerusalem post, is there a widening division within israel regarding what israel can or should do to sort of move the process? a two-part question. perception because it's within israel and our political feelings, and then what is the tenor within the israeli people for what's going on? >> small question. >> i will give you a shorter answer. it's all right. first, about the ties between the u.s. and israel, i believe

this relationships are strong and based on mutual values of freedom and justice, and we share the same war against radical islamic terrorism. and i think that the ties are a strong as they used to be, because the base is the same pace. regarding to what we can do or die show what was the second question? >> just follow up on your first win. do you sense, does israel since any sort of, i don't know what the word, impatience or less, you know, does israel feel in the united states some of these growing trends? do you know about j street, for several? >> i don't feel that. >> are you aware of j street, the organizations that was developed sort of in response to aipac, the traditional lobbying group?

>> we need to wind this up. >> are you aware of those organizations. >> i think i heard about it. i'm not sure i'm fairly familiar with her actions. i don't see any decline in the relations. i see nothing like that. and i'm happy about it. >> okay. in the second part then is the mood in israel, what can you tell us about the division or not division, what are the breakdown, left, bill, right in israel itself about the peace process, or lack there of? >> i don't think it is a the difference today between palestine and israel. all of them agreed to establishing a palestinian state, but the big question is what would be the palestinians boundaries. and, of course, it should be demilitarized because we have suffered enough from terrorism during the years. the whole idea behind -- solving

the problem in peaceful way, and we got a lot of care after that. -- a lot of terror after that. so i think there is consensus regarding how it should be conducted. some of them would say we should start negotiations right away. for myself, i believe that, and this is not, i mean, if the palestinian would adopt my opinion, i am sure they would not, they can have a palestinian state right now. israel does not have defined borders. so what? the restaurants are full. if the drink is a palestinian state, why don't you take it now? the years will pass, you'll enjoy the prosperity. israelis will learn to trust you, live with no terrorism, and you know, it will be easy.

but if you go to the u.n., you say we want to get everything that we demand without negotiate, why bother negotiate? if they can get it all without giving anything? i hope i answered your question in a way. >> on this site am going to jump back to give because both of you are had a chance to speak. you make speak again there's no question, i want to go to the and women behind you to get every chance as we work through. stay where you are. >> this is more of a comment, not a question. you talked about how he was treated in five years he was in prison. let me take something. when he was arrested, he was armed. most of the palestinians who were arrested and that are now in the israeli jail, they were arrested illegally. some of them are under -- [inaudible] [applause] and they have been on hunger

strikes are twentysomething days because they were not treated right. i don't think of the right to talk about humanity because you don't know what humanity is. [applause] >> thank you. spent would you like to say anything up front? >> you think that he is not, was not until two of the red cross visit him? [inaudible] >> hold on. you can't speak from the audience. we can't hear you. come up and get in line. if you want to respond, come back. >> the palestinians and the israeli prisons a lot of them are not allowed to be visited by the family. >> lots of families go to. >> lives. no. i have friends whose fathers, i've been in prison since they were born. they cannot visit their parents in jail. spanks a you think people that are responsible for x. floating

passionate exploding buses should be out on the streets of? >> not all the people who are in jail exploded buses. >> and the ones that are responsible for the, you think they should be in prison? >> at least they should be treated as humans. they don't get medical care in prison. >> they do not? didn't you see how he looked up he went out? >> he was in better shape than they did spend all right. so we disagree here. >> i'm going to go to the other side for the next question. [applause] >> thank you for giving me an opportunity. i want to ask about the disengagement from gaza. obviously this was a really hotly debated issue, in israel. and i want to ask, now in retrospect, now that some time has passed, do you still support your father's decision? would you take it back? i mean, was this politically advantageous for israel? what are your thoughts?

>> was it a political benefit to israel to withdraw from gaza? >> there was a consensus in israel that if we would have peace agreement with the palestinians we would not be sitting in gaza. so the question that was left was, should we wait for an agreement that might never arrive, or should we do what is best for us? and he, in a great leadership spirit, i mean, he took the decision and executed it. now, people say that the rockets against, that fired toward israeli towns are the outcome of moving out from gaza. but the rockets started before. the first rockets launch near towards we lived were fired on

april 16, 2001. but our ability to fight their from gaza was limited. and so if you ask me if it was the right action, i think it was. >> i'm going to go here just because -- >> hi. i also don't like you or your father. but a lot of people -- speak louder spent a lot of people find it hilarious how the people of israel left the holocaust and created one. how do you feel about that? >> you know, the israelis did not take anyone and put them in gas chambers, all right? so i mean, show some respect, we? >> i'm not talking about that. how you killed a lot of people, still killing no matter how you kill them. you still kill them. they ended up dead some way. and you keep recognizing how the

people got, or your children got blown up in buses. people of palestine got hurt, too. and you don't recognize that in any way. i don't hear you saying that you want peace thing i'm upset with every loss of life, let me tell you that when terrorists are intentionally hide amongst civilians, so when you fight them, sometimes civilians do get hurt. but terrorists are intentionally seeking for civilians targets. this is the difference. >> so are you saying all the people of palestine are terrorists? >> no, they are not being arrested as you know. >> i just want to clarify one thing for the air. i think you need to start differentiating between terrorism and a jihad. as you is a struggle. so when somebody's family gets lost and had nothing else, they

are inside a struggle. i think this is where the bus bombings do come and people do commit suicide. so jihad is a struggle because something happened. they just don't call himself a jihad out of nowhere. but to move on to my question, you start off by saying that israel in 1948 had this 10-mile radius of the country, and they had ideas of expansions. by expansion you went in there forcefully, and in history it happened forcefully. don't you think that israel was the first one to initiated force? and regress the palestinians back and give them less and less and less and less and less and less and less, and less and less, and also freedom? that's question number one. would you please answer that for me? >> i think i should refresh your memory. the palestinians rejected the partition plan on 47. if they would have accepted it, the palestinians would have a palestinian state by now.

the reason that they have less and less is because they never were happy with what was offered. in 1947, the commission offered them almost the whole country. the jews accepted the. they rejected. 1947 their offered a little bit less. jews accepted, arabs rejected. open toward the the arab anna kendrick why didn't you take a back then? why did just out of a palestinian state before 67? this is what you're demanding right now. why didn't you do what? if jerusalem was dashed out why didn't you do it speak what can i please talk? so you guys -- >> would you answers because i will try to give you the best answer that i know, just like a you are speaking out of your best knowledge. so i think the best answer is, if somebody would try to create country inside the middle of the united states today, and even give up one state, one minor state are one or one might say and do not states and try to call that a country, i think we

would all stand here as united states american citizens and fight for that piece of land. >> there was not a state over there. nobody had a country over there. [talking over each other] are you suggesting we don't have a right for jewish state? >> i never suggested that and it never came out of my mouth and right now you're trying to put words in my mouth and i never tried to put words in your mouth, so let's stay on mutual respect. i think i'm wasting my time with questions. thank you very much, and a letter will be going out to suffolk along with a lot of petitions for bringing, i was happy to kind of have you here to maybe tell us some truth, but instead all he got was ignorance of answers and also a lot of lies. and i'm very sad about that. that's all i have to say. [applause] >> i'm going to ask you again, you're a duplicate questions to go ahead. >> i'm not sure that i have such a great question to ask you, but i'm an american jew. i visited israel many times. i understand, you know, as a jew

what gilad is trying to say, which is the basic principles of all jews are that we give. we want to give. and i'm so sad to be here today to hear, that you don't hear that we want to give as jews, israeli jews, american jews, palestinians, we want to give you something. but recently on the news i'm reading 81 missiles are being shot out of palestine. and we are constantly defending, defending, defending. and it is a continuous argument. and what can we do, is my

question, to stop the arguing and fighting back and accept that jews, that israel wants to give to you, if we could have peace? and maybe you can, but i don't know if it's a question our want, but, you know, i hate to see this, this beautiful presentation disturbed, you know, by the argument, when all we are trying to say is that we want you to have a palestinian state. but please stop shooting missiles and hurting and shooting school buses and schools. [inaudible] >> excuse me. sir, sir. thank you. spent i want to say -- [inaudible] >> how can you accept the fact that we want to make, to give you, that we want peace. and i'm so sorry for the mistakes, but when you're being attacked as israel has been surrounded, the whole country at one point, when we talk about

ariel, he was just a man, a young 17 year old, too, who had to defend, you know, a country, a state of israel. >> gilad was actually an israeli -- >> we hear you, believe me spent i need you to ask you to wrap up your comment. >> but the arguing and in the shooting, the missiles, -- >> man, i need you to ask you to wrap up your comment. do you have a response before go to the next question. i need you to wrap up. >> what i have to say, israel won all the wars. this is the only country who won all the wars, and still is willing to give up what you want. [inaudible] spare no other state ever was willing to do that. now, we were ready to do what egyptian or the jordanians wouldn't do. egyptian or that you're gaining

and not give the palestinian states in the places they were holding. west bank and gaza. the palestinians were not demanding that. 19 years. everyone was sitting quietly until 67. no one thought to establish a palestinian state. why was that? because what you refer is the occupation, this is the excuse and not the reason. because we had terror attack before. >> we're going to try to get to the last three questioners who are in line. go ahead. >> good evening. i would like to ask you a question. i don't speak good english speculative is better i guess. >> there's a difference between -- [inaudible] now i'm going to ask the question because when you want to fight you don't win a war. when you win a war than you want to fight. now, my question is, speech is making a distinction between war

and fighting spam because ashley i think you misunderstood war instead of fight. my question is if you were here i -- [inaudible] i love them all. but you are the most powerful, secure for 100 years, after what had years, not after 35 years. would that make you on this property? >> he is asking what am i believe he is asking whether simply being, israel being there for a number of years automatically gives them the right to the lan. >> so you deny our right to have a jewish state because i don't know your right of a jewish state, but other people state. it's your right to eat, to live, but it's not your right to go take somebody else's food, to

live and this person does but i think if we were all in palestine, after 100 years does that make you own that thing? own that palestine country? >> i'm not a lawyer. i don't get your question spent i don't want your lawyer. i watch her perception. i want your opinion. i want to you what you have in mind spent i think i explained it. he seems to be asking whether the mere fact speed is maybe my bad english, i don't know. >> have you made your point? are you comfortable? >> can you explain to them, please? >> he seems to be asking whether or not the fact that israel has been where they have been gives them the rights over the people who were there prior? >> jewish state 3000 years ago in the land of israel. spent that wasn't only jewish state. >> was it only a jewish state or

whether other -- >> for this question, i'm sorry to cut you. i want to ask this friend right here. they want opinion? do you want peace for a recent? >> we will keep the questions directed here. you can talk after the program, okay? >> okay. one second. you can have a state that for palestine. palestine was not for muslims. muslims have religious places but not only christian have religious places. everybody's religious place. muslims can't take it by themselves. christians can't do that. jews can't do that but it's for everybody spent i will ask you to wrap up. do you want to respond? >> i'm not sure i get the point, but -- >> i will take english classes again. >> go ahead. probably going to get to about three more questions. would have to wrap up. >> thank you for coming to boston and everything, first of

all. and i would like to say as a human being looking at israel and palestinian authority, my mother is jewish, and looking at that i can see that there's a clear humanitarian crisis in palestine were kids are not being fed, where people live in the food and things like that. israel is blocking. you might say you making out of gaza but you're clearly blocking it. there is a clear humanitarian crisis here, and please don't tell me that there isn't a crisis because that's a fact. and israel, regardless of rockets and everything that they're being attacked, regardless of that, just because someone is doing that doesn't mean that they can't in palestine deserve to be hungry. and the fathers are away from the fact that everybody in palestine is a criminal. this is just him looking as a third party perspective. what do you have to say for that? clearly they are suffering. what is the justification for that? one missile that came to you? [applause] >> you know, gaza has a border

with egypt. they can get everything from -- they get all the missiles, all the rockets, all the explosives, all the weapons. i mean, they can get everything they need from egypt. are we responsible for gaza? why don't they take it from egypt? i mean, -- [inaudible] >> egypt's prime minister was your best friend, hosni mubarak said sharon is the best hope for peace so that's what egypt was blocking gaza. now that that is open, egypt will hopefully do that. [applause] >> we will end of the question there. i'm going to jump over you one more time because i've someone who hasn't spoken behind you, i believe. >> hi. socom i find it extremely hypocritical that israel considers itself a democracy because if israel is in a democracy and how, palestinians

don't have the freedom to polls, the freedom of speech? the idf imposes strict checkpoints upon them. so, if all of this as having been how do you justify that israel is a democracy? >> israel arabs vote and the palestinian vote for the palestinian authority. let me remind you, in 2006, the last election the palestinian authority health, hamas won a big majority to the hamas. it means a lot. >> that's not what i'm talking about spent it shows a peaceful the palestinians are. because i know the hamas character. i learned it. and the idea is that jews have no rights at all, and that the jihad and the idea of eliminating the state of israel is a religious, how do you say? >> yes. >> is something you cannot argue about.

you cannot go to a religious view and say okay, you can keep that but only half of it. so if palestinians vote for hamas, it means a lot. it says something. don't you think? >> no, i'm saying -- >> they voted for hamas. >> i'm talking about the israeli government. like, why doesn't the israeli government give palestinians their freedom to do anything? how come when i walked to the west bank to visit my brother since they weren't able to go to jerusalem with the because the palestinians. deliveries i can do it because i'm an american citizen. so like why? i just don't understand why. [inaudible] >> okay. know. stop, stop. this is a conversation. if you want to talk amongst yourselves, afterwards. [inaudible] >> if there were not so many people that choose to explode buses, you know, everything would be much easier. [inaudible]

>> okay. [inaudible] >> also, also passionate thank you, but i'm going to wrap up. >> it was a long time. [inaudible] spend the idf went into there, and killed a thousand palestinians. and on top of that cut off the electricity. people could not even survive in the hospital. >> they fire rockets on the same station that provide -- >> and also israel stopped aid, stopped aid to gaza whenever they want. why is this happening quite if israel doesn't want peace, i mean, peace is possible but you have to work, like you have to work for. you just get sick palestinians can't do anything. >> they told me -- >> that's the end of your question, thank you. [inaudible]

>> when palestinian have the west bank? why? why? do you know why? because they never recognize our rights. [inaudible] >> all right. [applause] >> is a quick question. >> this is the last question spent i just want to know your perception, after hosni mubarak left, what do you feel, how do you feel about the egyptian-israeli peace treaty? do you feel it is going to fall or stay together? >> i hope it's going to stay. and i offer you something, it's a bit of a problem. i would say inherited, not inherited. problem, when you make peace with dictatorships, as all arab states are dictatorship, you have -- [inaudible] >> you have a big problem with

that, because when somebody else take power and kills the previous one, so the whole thing is, you're not sure if he did a piece or not. but i think that peace is important to the egyptians, not less than two israel. this is the only way they could have gotten back the sinai and billions of american dollars. and why would, why would there be peace with egypt? we don't have any border dispute or -- [inaudible] >> you have had your say. thank you. we're going to close the program now. >> talk about passion. >> i would like to end this national i would like to end this on a big round of applause for everyone who stood up and participated and had the courage to say what they wanted to say. everybody in the room. [applause] ..

>> watch live streaming coverage of the annual national book awars from new york city, red carpet interviews with the nonfiction finalists and the awards ceremony starting at 6 p.m. eastern. >> here's a short author interview from c-span's campaign 2012 bus as it travels the country. >> mr. waterman, set the stage for this book. what is it based on, and take us through what readers can expect. >> well, the book's based on my time in the navy on active duty from 1964 to about halfway

through 1977. um, the reason i wrote the book was i was speaking to my cousin one day about how i hadn't done anything in my life, and he looked at me with this funny look, and he said, done anything, he said, you've done stuff people just get to read about. i went, huh, maybe that's an idea. so i went home, and i talked to my wife. she's now deceased, but she said, yeah, you've done a lot of stuff. and i said, well with, like what? and she said, just start writing with. just write it out in chapters. just write each event like a chapter and figure out the time frame where they fit in, and clean it up, and somebody will buy it. so i did. as i wrote it, i mentioned to some people that i was writing about my experiences, and they said, oh, yeah, i remember doing

things like. that so what turned out once it was published, i got feedback over the internet, guys were saying, boy, this reminded me a lot of the stuff i did and got away with and lived through. so it had an appeal for moe any young kid who joined the military. i was 18 when i went in, and i was 31 or something like that when i got out off active duty. and i still meet people who read it and said, boy, that was great. i loved that, it just reminded me of some of the things that went on when i was in the service. so i maid, well, maybe i've got a win wither. >> you write in detail about the circumstances which led you to serve in a branch of the armed service -- armed forces. can you explain how you ended up seven anything the navy in the capacity that you served? >> i was interested in scuba diving, but i sort of put it aside by the time i graduated from high school.

and i'd got into photography, and i worked at the newspaper running the darkroom when somebody went on vacation. i learned a lot of thicks from -- things from that. but i decided my only option to my impeculiar situation was to join the situation if i wanted to get out of rockland, maine, and do something interesting. so one day i was down at the post office where the recruiters were, and i was going to go see the recruiters. well, the only one that was there was the navy recruiter. and i spoke to him for a while, real nice guy. first class allen, i can remember his name. i told him what i had in mind. i said, i'm going to quit high school and get out of town. he said, don't quit high school. stay in, and i guarantee you'll get a school. i said,ó-tç oh, okay. so i stayed in another two or

three months, graduated and went in the navy, and the rest is history. but did choose to be a photographer's mate which is kind of the closest thing that i could think of that i was doing on the outside, and ended up later becoming a diver. >> you talk about what people thought about military service in the 1960s. can you explain how you feel it was viewed then and how you talk about it in your book? >> it was actually worse than what i talk about in the book. after, after i got back from vietnam in late '69 i got back, i got back to the east coast, and a friend of mine and i use today go to washington to take pictures of these demonstrators. i couldn't believe the stuff that was being said about veterans. they were portrayed as druggies and nut cases and people who couldn't make it on the outside

and things of that nature. and later on i found out that this was, basically, a bunch of dodgers. they had a better chance of getting a job, they had lessed is, they had less drug addictions that be the general -- than the general population, so i didn't think too much of the way we were treated, and i never had anybody spit on me as can be proven by the fact that i'm not still in prison. [laughter] and we sort of didn't pay a lot of attention. we hung around with people who were of our same way of thinking, and we didn't pay any attention to it for the most part. >> there are a lot of books written about individuals' experiences during vietnam. what makes yours different or sets it apart? >> well, based on, like i say, information, feedback from the book guys saying this is not just another one of those me,

me, me, me vietnam books. i give people credit where credit's due on anything, any ideas that came out. i love to help other people succeed if possible. there are some interesting stories, there's a fair bit of humor in there, and i tried not to get too technical, and in cases where i did use it can call stuff, i put a footnote for the most part. so it's fairly easy to understand. i don't go into a lot of acronyms like most military books do, and the photos are -- i hate to say it, but they're very good. and there's about, i think there's 80 or something like that. the first edition which was printed by random house was physically poor quality. the a paperback for three or four bucks, this thing is on acid-free paper, and it's larger print for us old guys to read.

and that's about it. >> is there a specific event in which you've written about in your book that stands out in your mind? >> i guess the first time i got shot at, that sort of -- i can remember that. and i found out that you don't have to be shot at very many times before you realize it's not a nice way to spend a half, 30 seconds or however long the fire fight lasted. it didn't mess me up, but one case that did have an effect on me was one of the vietnamese guys we were working with mutilated a corpse of a dead vc, and i was not impressed with that at all. i found it -- i didn't hate the viet cong because i never got captured by them or anything like that, i was never shot or wounded. i worked with people who hated the vietnamese for some reason, and i can't process that information in my head. i just felt that they were -- a bad situation, we were trying to help them and not very

successfully thanks to our 94th congress, but that's another story. >> the c-span campaign 2012 bus visits communities across the country. to follow the bus' travels, visit www.c-span.org/bus. >> so, my good friend, this is not just another straightforward, chronological biography of davy crockett, cradle to grave. nor does it focus just on that one slice from the big correct pie, the alamo. there is much more to crockett than the last few weeks of his life. and it's not a regurgitation of the many, many myths and total lies perpetuated by crockett over the years. this is a book for people interested in learning the truth or at least as much as can be uncovered about both the historical and the fictional crockett and how the two often became one.

and, hopefully, readers will gain some new historical insights into the actual man and how he captured the imagination of his generation and later up withs as well. ones as well. so now, a few spoonfuls from crockett: the lion of the west. and the first is just a graph or two from my preface. the authentic david crockett was, first and foremost, a three-dimensional human being, a man who had d -- as we all do, both good and bad points. he was somewhat idiosyncratic, possessed prejudices and opinions that governed how he chose to live his life.

crockett could be calculating and self-agran dieding -- aggrandizing but also as valiant, indeed, resourceful as anyone who roamed the american frontier. as a man he was wise in the ways of the wilderness and most comfortable when deep in the woods on a hunt. yet he also could hold his own in the halls of congress, a fact that distinguished him from so many other frontiersmen. remarkably, he enjoyed fraternizing with men of power and prestige in the fancy parlors of philadelphia and new york. crockett was like none other, a 19th century enigma. he fought under andrew jackson in the end grab wars only -- indian wars only later to become jackson's bitter foe on the issue of removal of indian tribes from their homelands.

crockett's contradictions extended beyond politics. he had only a few months of formal egg, yet he read avid and bard. he was neither a baffoon, nor a great intellect, but a man who was always evolving on the stage of a nation in its adolescence, a pioneer whose dreams aptly reflected a restless nation with a gaze pointed toward the west. perhaps more than anyone of his time, david crockett was arguably our first celebrity hero, inspiring people of his own time as well as a 20th century generation. the man, david crockett, may have perished on march 6, 1836, in the final assault on the alamo, but the mythical davy crockett, now an integral part of the american psyche, perhaps more so than any other frontiersman, lives powerfully on. in this way his story then becomes far more than a one-note

walt disney legend. while his life continues to shed light on the meaning of america's national character. a spoonful from a chapter entitled, "kilt him a bar." [laughter] david crockett believed in the wind and in the stars, the sun of -- the son of tennessee could read the sun, the shadows and the wild clouds full of thunder. he was comfortable amid the thickets and quagmires, the mountain balds. he hunted the oak, hickory, maple and sweet gum forests that had never felt an axe blade. he was familiar with all the smells, the odor of decaying animal flesh, the aroma of the air after a rain, and the pun gent smell of the forest. he knew the rivers lined with

sycamore, poplar and willow that breached the mountains through steep-sided gorges with strange sounding names, many with indian influences like the pigeon, the telico, the wataga, the kusa, the wolf, the elk. he sought the dimensions of lakes and streams studded with ancient cypress. he learned that dog days arrive not with the heat of august, but in early july when the dog star rises and sets with the sun. he carried his compass and maps in his head. he traversed the land when it was lush in the warm times and when it was covered with the frost the cherokees described as clouds frozen on the trees. the wilderness was, indeed, crockett's cathedral. >> you can watch this and other