Sharon is proposing withdrawal from Gaza and a few places in the West Bank. Isn't Israeli withdrawal just what everybody was demanding? That is why Europe is having a tough time condemning this proposal. Only Sharon could do this, and he needed US backing to do it.
All well and good. But ONCE AGAIN, Bush didn't need to compromise the implicit neutrality of the US, by explicitly stating anything... Just let it hang, accentuate the positive (the withdrawals) without voicing an opinion on the negatives (the settlements).. The right of return was already widely acknowleged as a "non-starter" and merely a political diatribe.
Everyone could see the realities on the ground without Bush opening his mouth and spelling it out. All he had to do was welcome the Israeli withdrawal without voicing any opinion about the retention of settlements by Israel.
And what are the repercussions for his ending of US neutrality in such "explicit" terms? Very pro-American King Abdullah was forced to cancel his trip to meet with Bush:
nytimes.com
Jordanian King Puts Off Meeting Bush Over Israel
By STEVEN R. WEISMAN
Published: April 20, 2004
ASHINGTON, April 19 — King Abdullah of Jordan dealt a rebuff to President Bush on Monday, abruptly putting off his visit to Washington scheduled for later this week. Jordanian officials said the visit had become impossible in light of Mr. Bush's recent support for Israel's territorial claims in the West Bank.
A statement from Jordan said the king, who was in California on Monday and went home rather than to Washington, would not meet with Mr. Bush this week as planned.
It said the meeting would wait "until discussions and deliberations are concluded with officials in the American administration to clarify the American position on the peace process and the final situation in the Palestinian territories, especially in light of the latest statements by officials in the American administration."
A Jordanian official said the statement, in deliberately cool tones, was meant to send a message of displeasure.
For their part, administration officials said that the visit had to be put off because of "developments in the region" and that it would be rescheduled for May.
Jordanian officials made clear that King Abdullah, who was in California meeting with technology and entertainment industry figures, had been irked by Mr. Bush's declarations in his meeting last week with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and would therefore bypass Washington......................... |
