King Abdullah tried reasoning with the unreasonable Bush
Bush differs with King Abdullah on attacking Iraq, strategy for Middle East
peace
Thu Aug 1, 8:35 PM ET
By BARRY SCHWEID, AP Diplomatic Writer
WASHINGTON - President George W. Bush ( news - web sites) and a key Arab ally,
Jordan's King Abdullah, found themselves in disagreement over a possible U.S.
attack to topple Iraqi President Saddam Hussein ( news - web sites) and over
the pace of American peacemaking in the Middle East.
Reuters
Slideshow: Mideast Conflict
Bush 'Furious' Over Bombing
(AP Video)
The king soft-pedaled his opposition Thursday to a potential U.S. military
strike against Baghdad. But Bush, in an Oval Office picture-taking session
with the monarch, made clear he had not changed his mind about considering
"all tools" to bring about regime change in Iraq.
Abdullah responded mildly: "I found from Day 1 with the president he
understands the bigger picture."
On the peacemaking front, like most Arab and European leaders, the Jordanian
king is appealing to Bush to put heat on Israel to withdraw from the West Bank
and Gaza and to move more aggressively to set up the Palestinian state Bush
has said he envisions for the Middle East.
A day after terrorists struck Israel again — killing seven people including
five Americans at Hebrew University in Jerusalem — Bush insisted that security
against terror must be in place first.
He said his goal was "a security force in the Palestinian territory that will
be able to help deal with those who want to destroy the prospects for peace."
Visibly moved by the university bombing, Bush said: "I am just as angry as
Israel is. I am furious,"
However, he said, "Even though I am mad, I still think peace is possible."
Bush said he was seeking the cooperation of Arab governments in tracking down
the perpetrators of the bombing, and White House spokesman Ari Fleischer (
news - web sites) said the United States was in contact with the American
embassy in Tel Aviv in an effort to develop investigative leads.
The FBI ( news - web sites) has opened an investigation, in cooperation with
Israeli authorities, a senior administration official said Thursday night.
However, Bush refrained from saying whether the murder of Americans would take
his war against terror to a new level.
"We are responding all across the globe to murders of Americans," he said. "We
responded in Afghanistan ( news - web sites) to murders. We responded in the
Philippines. We're responding by working with our American friends, and
Israel, of course, to track these people down," he said.
Asked on NBC's "Nightly News" if there could be a U.S. reprisal for the
attack, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said it was "very unlikely in my
opinion. I just can't imagine it."
For his part, Abdullah stressed the need to move ahead in peacemaking.
"You have really given us hope that once and for all we will be able to move
forward as Arabs and Israelis to be able to live in peace and harmony and have
a tremendous future," the king said.
In an obvious thrust at Yasser Arafat ( news - web sites), the Palestinian
leader whose ouster Bush already has demanded, the president said security
arrangements must protect people and not the "whims" of one man.
Later, Bush met for a half-hour with Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres,
joining a meeting Peres held with Condoleezza Rice ( news - web sites), the
president's national security adviser.
"Basically, we see eye-to-eye," Peres said afterward. "To get rid of terror at
large and suicide bombers particularly."
Then, after talking to Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, Peres said
"deep in their heart," most people in the Middle East think Saddam Hussein is
a danger.
"He kills right and left," Peres said. "Who needs him?"
Jordan's opposition to a conflict with Saddam Hussein is rooted in a strong
economic relationship with Jordan's bigger and more powerful neighbor. Iraq
import about dlrs 700 worth of Jordanian goods and provides Jordan's entire
daily requirement of 90,000 barrels of oil at preferential rates |
