Looks like Sharon's credit line with the Bush administration is running out....
March 8, 2002
Zinni heads back to Mideast
By Bill Sammon
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
President Bush yesterday dispatched retired Gen. Anthony Zinni to the Middle East, which is teetering on the brink of all-out war, and expressed dissatisfaction with Israel's strategy of racking up Palestinian casualties.
The move signaled a reassessment of the administration's Middle East policy, which until now has consisted largely of calling on both sides to end the violence before substantive peace talks can begin.
The White House is now willing to engage the parties more directly. "There are no assurances, but that is not going to prevent our government from trying," Mr. Bush told reporters in the Rose Garden. "As a result of consultations, we believe there's a possibility we can have an impact."
With the violence at its highest level in 18 months, Mr. Bush said he felt compelled to re-engage the parties. Earlier, he had withdrawn Gen. Zinni from the region after two visits failed to quell the violence.
At that time, the administration indicated that Gen. Zinni would not return until the bloodshed ebbed. But the violence has only intensified.
A senior White House official said Mr. Bush was taking advantage of new peace overtures by Arab states. "Recent ideas put forth by Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia have created an opening for discussing this broader peace and for the normalization of relations between Arab states and Israel," the president said. "The United States is committed to exploring this opening."
The president has instructed Gen. Zinni to attempt to implement a security plan devised by CIA Director George J. Tenet.
[...]
washtimes.com
An interesting detail about Bush's outlining his viewpoint on the crisis is its "bipartisan" twist: both Cheney and Powell stood beside the President... |
