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

To: epsteinbd who wrote (60979)	12/10/2002 8:23:32 PM
From: Nadine Carroll	Respond to of 281500

Powell to pledge backing for democratic reform in Arab world By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON - With peacemaking stalled, Secretary of State Colin Powell is ready to offer Arab nations U.S. support in promoting democracy and adapting to the modern world. Powell will outline the Bush administration's intentions in a speech Thursday at the Heritage Foundation, a private research group. He had planned to make the speech in early November, but held off while Iraq took center stage in U.S. policy-making in the Middle East and Gulf. Powell will declare that U.S. interest in fostering democracy and reform among Arab nations is comparable to the attention the United States gives those goals in its European policy. While Powell is not likely to unveil new peacemaking initiatives, the drive for economic and political reform is being coupled with U.S. promises to plug away at a settlement between Israel and the Arabs. The Bush administration has modest goals for a conference it will host Dec. 20 to plot peace moves in the Middle East. Even while announcing the talks two weeks ago, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said it would be impossible to make headway toward a Palestinian state amid violence and terror attacks on Israel. "We see no excuse for such attacks," Boucher said. "We're pressing the Palestinians to do all they can to end immediately the terror and violence." The conference - drawing together officials from the United States, Russia, Europe and the United Nations – will be aimed at developing a roadmap for Mideast peacemaking, Palestinian statehood and reform within the Palestinian Authority. The idea is "to make progress where we can," Boucher said, adding that ending the violence and restoring security will be on the agenda at the so-called Quartet talks. jpost.com