U.S. Willing to Talk Before Violence Ends
By Alan Sipress and Mike Allen
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, April 4, 2002; Page A01
The White House said yesterday it was willing to open discussions over Palestinian political demands before the current violence is brought under control, dropping its insistence that diplomatic efforts be focused solely on achieving a cease-fire.
In setting out a political negotiating track concurrent with a security one, Bush administration officials notably separated their policy from that of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who has demanded calm before he addresses Palestinian interests.
"There are two vital guidelines that the president is seeking to advance, and they can work independently; they can work together," said White House spokesman Ari Fleischer. "The important thing is for the parties to begin the focus, with the United States' assistance, to making progress in both of them or either of them."
Fleischer said a cease-fire, coupled with new security arrangements between Israeli and Palestinian forces, would help enhance the chances that political talks would succeed. But he added, "Political dialogue is an essential part of the dialogue to solving the fundamental problems in the Middle East."
Although administration officials have long said they favor an overall political settlement to the Arab-Israeli dispute, Fleischer's remarks were significant because they seemed to elevate Palestinian demands to a matter of immediate concern.
This shift comes amid a crescendo of criticism, domestically and abroad, over the modest level of U.S. engagement in trying to break the Middle East logjam. U.S. allies in Europe and the Arab world are particularly concerned about the wide latitude Bush has given to Sharon's invasion of West Bank cities, which threatens to topple Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's government and end the Oslo peace process.
Fleischer's comments also reflect a recognition by national security adviser Condoleezza Rice that Middle East turmoil cannot be solved solely by military means but requires the sides to create a political context for negotiations, according to sources familiar with White House discussions.
Until now, U.S. officials have concentrated their public statements and private efforts almost exclusively on meeting Israel's insistence on improved security, requiring Arafat to crack down on militant groups responsible for a series of suicide bombings. The administration has not pressed Israel to offer the Palestinians immediate benefits, such as freezing construction of Jewish settlements, lifting the economic blockade on the West Bank and Gaza Strip or turning over tax revenue owed to Arafat's government. Nor have these issues figured prominently in U.S. special envoy Anthony C. Zinni's talks with the two sides.
The Palestinians have long complained that this strategy deprives Arafat of the political cover he needs to tackle militant activities and offers little incentive for him to cooperate with Israel.
Secretary of State Colin L. Powell said the administration would be "moving aggressively" to try to open political discussions.
"The new element that I'm going to be pressing hard in the days and weeks ahead is that the political component of this process has to be brought forward much more quickly than we might have thought otherwise," he said in an interview with CBS's "60 Minutes II." "The Palestinian people have to see that there is a political process and not just a cease-fire and security process, a political process that we will get involved in early on, through negotiations, that will lead quickly to a Palestinian state."
It remains unclear how the administration plans to translate its latest comments into practical diplomacy or how vigorously it would pursue this new course.
Even as Fleischer put new emphasis on attaining political progress, he said this did not signal a change in U.S. policy. He said President Bush had already shown an appreciation of Palestinian political aspirations when he gave a speech to the United Nations late last year calling for the creation of a Palestinian state.
Fleischer also made clear the administration still sees a truce as a natural precursor to political negotiations. "So long as there is violence, it's very hard for both parties to engage in meaningful political talks," he said.
Although Palestinians have previously welcomed Bush's willingness to accept the creation of a Palestinian state, Arafat's negotiators are looking for more immediate evidence that their political concerns are being addressed.
Central to this discussion is how tightly two U.S. proposals are linked. Zinni's three trips to the region have focused on winning Palestinian and Israeli adherence to a cease-fire plan developed in June by CIA Director George J. Tenet. Once that is in place, the two sides would open talks about steps recommended early last year by an international committee headed by former senator George J. Mitchell (D-Maine) calling for steps to rebuild mutual confidence and resumption of negotiations over a final accord.
The Palestinians want to see an explicit link between these two plans with the economic and political steps included in the Mitchell recommendations taken as soon as possible. Israel has sought to separate the two plans, delaying political concessions while maintaining a focus on ending violence.
Arafat's negotiators were initially heartened by their discussions with Zinni a week ago over the cease-fire plan, but this turned to frustration after, they said, he failed to incorporate their political demands in a document meant to bridge differences between the Palestinian and Israeli proposals. Administration officials have called the Palestinians inflexible for failing to accept Zinni's ideas.
The importance of widening the scope of negotiations to include political issues was acknowledged yesterday by Powell in a meeting with Arab American leaders, according to James J. Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute.
"Does he understand the need for a political component?" Zogby said. "I think he does." He said other administration officials also seem to be recognizing that a focus solely on Israel's security is undercutting the prospects for peace and damaging the United States' standing in the Arab world. The result is an evolving policy, he said.
"There is a change and the change is incremental," Zogby said.
During their meeting at Foggy Bottom, the Arab American leaders called on Powell to help carry out a U.N. Security Council resolution adopted this weekend calling for Israel to withdraw the forces now engaged in military operations against Palestinians.
Speaking with news agency reporters, Powell said he was open to meeting with Arab and Israeli officials during a trip next week, scheduled to include stops in Berlin and Madrid. "I would not rule out meetings with anybody where it would serve a useful purpose."
Meanwhile, a group of prominent conservatives led by William Kristol, editor of the Weekly Standard, sought to head off any softening of the U.S. line on Arafat, urging Bush not to force Israel to negotiate with Arafat. In a letter, they warned that negotiations that are "the product of terrorism or conducted under the threat of terrorist attack . . . would send a most dangerous signal to our adversaries that civilized states do not have the necessary courage to fight terrorism in all its forms."
The signers said they were seeking to counteract the pressure Bush is under to step up pressure on Israel.
© 2002 The Washington Post Company
washingtonpost.com |
