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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: tekboy who wrote (28456)	5/5/2002 7:33:34 PM
From: Nadine Carroll	Respond to of 281500

Ha'aretz' take on Sharon's visit: Background / Bush not ready to grant PM's wish to ditch Arafat By Peter Hirschberg, Ha'aretz Correspondent It is difficult to discern any substantial difference of opinion between Ariel Sharon and George Bush when it comes to the subject of Yasser Arafat, but that does not mean the U.S. president is about to allow the prime minister to neutralize the Palestinian leader - a request at the top Sharon's wish-list as he departed Sunday for Washington. Sharon, who will be in the U.S. for four days, plans to propose a long-term, staged diplomatic plan which includes a fundamental reform of the Palestinian Authority, the unification of the PA's security forces and finally, political negotiations - without Arafat. In the past, Bush has expressed similar opinions to Sharon on the desirability of Arafat as a negotiating partner, but the sharp rise in popularity of the Palestinian leader, as a result of the month-long IDF siege on his Ramallah compound, has solidified the opinion in Washington that there is no viable alternative to the Palestinian leader, for now. "Bush loves Arafat about as much as Sharon does," says Ha'aretz diplomatic columnist Akiva Eldar. "He despises him. But his political advisors and the Saudis have told him that Arafat is the only partner in town." Sharon's aides have described the trip as a business-as-usual visit. And the recent overwhelming support in Congress for a decision expressing solidarity with Israel and condemning the Palestinians, can have only emboldened the prime minister. But Sharon might actually experience some discomfort, especially if Bush demands movement on the diplomatic track with the Palestinians that goes beyond talk of a phased agreement or of the regional peace conference that the prime minister has floated. "Bush wants to see action now," says Eldar. "And the Americans don't take the idea of a summit seriously. They see it as a Sharon spin attempt." This could well come in the form of American insistence on the immediate implementation of the Mitchell Report, which outlines a series of confidence-building measures, including a freeze on settlements. That demand would be politically painful for Sharon, who faces a Likud Central Committee meeting in a few days time, where party members are intent on shackling him diplomatically by voting against the idea of a Palestinian state. Sharon will also find little comfort in the increasingly vocal call issued by a number of Palestinian leaders for a fundamental reform of the Palestinian Authority. However loud, that demand is not translating into a call for Arafat to be replaced. "The demand is not for Arafat to be removed," says Ha'aretz Arab Affairs commentator Danny Rubinstein. "It is for him to replace other people in the Palestinian Authority. Especially the Palestinian security forces, which take up one-third of the budget. They haven't proved themselves. They didn't stop the suicide bombings when Arafat did issue orders, and they weren't able to protect the Palestinians when the IDF invaded." Arafat's unchallenged position amongst his people may have been cemented by the IDF's West Bank offensive, but if he does not move against the armed militias and terror attacks resume, then he might find that Bush's true opinion of him will begin to translate into policy in Washington. If that happens, Sharon might well see his wish come true. haaretzdaily.com