November 22, 2000

Mr. Frank E. Loy
Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs

LOY: Good evening. The last couple of days-rather the last ten days really-have been filled with very serious work and a lot of rhetoric and I hope are leading to an outcome. One of my associates pointed out that

[At this point a protestor walked up and threw a pie in Mr. Loy's face. The protestor was forcibly removed from the room by security guards. Loy then continued as follows.]

We will start again another day. Let me just say one word.

One of my associates did point out that this is the anniversary of a very sad day in American history, the assassination of John F. Kennedy. On the day that he died he was to deliver a speech. It had a line in it that struck me as very applicable to the moment in which we find ourselves here at this conference. (Laughter). And what he said was this: He warned against being swayed by those who confuse rhetoric with reality, and the plausible with the possible. I want to just assure you, as we go clean me up here, what we are very anxious to do here is to do the possible, to recognize reality, to make a deal, and we are looking for our colleagues to do the same. The processes are quite serious at the moment, and we have every hope that it will be successful.

Sorry to leave a little early.

(Sustained applause.) Transcript