President George W.H. Bush addressed the audience on a videotape during the International Crisis Group Award Dinner held on October 28 to honor him, President Clinton, and His Excellency Mr. Issam Fares, saying, ‘It is an honor for me to be awarded with my friend President Clinton and my dear friend Issam Fares who is a SPECIAL individual’.

Both Presidents Bush and Clinton agreed upon appreciating their friendship to Issam Fares whom Bush portrayed as a SPECIAL individual. Clinton, for his part, applauded Fares’ role and the Lebanese people’s role in the region’s economic future.