Bush rewards backers of Iraq war
By Richard Benedetto and Bill Nichols, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — When President Bush hosts Philippines President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo tonight at a state dinner, he will possibly be sending a signal to nations that opposed the war in Iraq:
Friends get rewards. Foes pay a price.
Ever since combat in Iraq began winding down, Bush has been hosting leaders of nations that supported the war and snubbing those that didn't. The meetings are a political boon for those who receive them, including many from smaller nations.
Since April 9, the day Saddam Hussein's statue was toppled in Baghdad, Bush has met at the White House or at his ranch near Crawford, Texas, with 20 world leaders, all of whom supported the war. That number will grow to 23 by the end of this week after the Arroyo visit, a meeting Tuesday with Dominican Republic President Hipolito Mejia and a get-together Friday at the ranch with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.
Nations welcomed by Bush
Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today becomes the 21st foreign leader to meet with President Bush at the White House or at his Texas ranch since the fall of Baghdad on April 9. The 20 countries whose leaders have visited thus far were members of the Iraq war coalition or supported the U.S.-led invasion:
April 9 — Slovakia
April 10 — El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua
April 23 — Uruguay
April 30 — Colombia
May 3 — Australia
May 6 — Denmark, Singapore
May 7 — Spain
May 8 — Qatar, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia (+1), Slovenia
May 14 — South Korea
May 16 — Norway
Source: USA TODAY research
1 - second visit
No war opponents have been invited to receive the president's hospitality. But the president's pique has not gone much beyond symbolism. Some of the actions against war opponents have been more cosmetic than substantive. Bush has not severed any diplomatic ties or called for any reductions in aid.
But war opponents could pay a price:
• Bush delayed until fall signing a free-trade agreement with Chile, which opposed the war, while accelerating a similar deal with Singapore, an ally. Administration officials said the holdup was for technical reasons. But observers see it as a way for the White House to show its displeasure without upsetting a pact that would benefit both nations.
• Bush postponed a May 5 trip to Canada to meet with Prime Minister Jean Chretien, who was a critic of the Iraq war.
• With the United States and Britain controlling the transition in Iraq, French and German companies could lose out on contracts to rebuild the nation.
• Russia's long-sought repeal of the 1974 Jackson-Vanik law, which ties trade breaks to Russian emigration changes, is stalled in Congress — and the White House isn't pushing it.
In some cases — including Germany and Russia, whose opposition helped prevent a vote on a resolution that would have given United Nations backing to the war — the threat of U.S. payback may have made estranged allies more conciliatory. Germany signaled last week that it would support a U.S.-backed U.N. resolution to end sanctions on Iraq and give the United States and Britain broad power over its reconstruction. The United States and Russia plan to sign an arms reduction treaty this month.
Meanwhile, Bush has been doing favors for war allies — helping Spain in its crackdown on the separatist Batasuna party, backing a free-trade zone to help cooperative Persian Gulf nations such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and speeding consideration of a free-trade pact with Australia.
White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said the White House is not deliberately shutting out war opponents — it's just that war supporters are more plentiful.
"What you are seeing here is a real numerical reminder of how the world agreed with the United States, and how few countries disagreed with the United States," Fleischer said.
No White House visits for war critics are scheduled soon, but Bush is slated to meet French President Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder at an economic summit of the world's industrial leaders in France next month. Before the summit, he is scheduled to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg.
But all may not be back to normal. Although Schroeder sought a one-on-one meeting with Bush at the summit, Secretary of State Colin Powell said Friday that there just "won't be time" for long conversations. "The two will meet in a group setting," Powell said.
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