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Politics : DON'T START THE WAR -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: TigerPaw who wrote (11180)	2/20/2003 8:38:17 PM
From: Karen Lawrence	Respond to of 25898

The US, backed by Israel, has once again blocked the publication of the Quartet's 'road map' for peace in the Middle East. US again stalls peace deal WASHINGTON - now believes that publication of the Quartet's 'road map' for peace in the Middle East' should not take place until after the Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon forms a government. EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The US, backed by Israel, has once again blocked the publication of the Quartet's 'road map' for peace in the Middle East. Representatives from the United States, European Union, United Nations and Russian Federation met in London this week, but even before the meeting of envoys on Wednesday afternoon it emerged that adoption had been further delayed. The Quartet agreed upon the road map last December but its adoption was not made public due to US objections about the timing. The US demanded the plan not be made public before the Israeli elections, despite strong EU opposition. Further delay The US now believes that it should not be published until after the Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, forms a government. Something which may take a month or more. The Quartet will instead publish the plan "at the earliest possible moment" European Commission officials told the EUobserver. "Our position is let's do this yesterday... there is no time to lose" said a Commission spokesperson, insisting however that the latest delay did not represent another fudge. But this will come as a major blow to European efforts to secure the implementation of the plan. Pushing ahead The EU has been keen to press ahead and to insure progress was being made even if the 'road map' has not been published. According to Israeli newspaper, Ha'aretz, the EU, UN and Russia last week demanded that Mr Arafat create a Prime Ministerial post. Mr Arafat consequently agreed, a major coup for the EU who had been at loggerheads with the US over the fate of Mr Arafat. The Us and Israel has insisted that he is not a valuble interlocutor. But Quartet members are keeping a close eye on the situation. It is an open secret that the four have already found their candidate in the form of the Palestinian Finance Minister Salam Fayyad, although Mr Fayyad has rejected the idea. Blow for the British On his last visit to Washington the UK Prime Minister Tony Blair thought he had secured sufficient assurance from the President George W. Bush that he would press forward with the plan. London and other European capitals view this move as essential in keeping favour with Arab states and not least the fabled 'Arab street' given the upheaval caused by a war with Iraq. Drawing on the positive steps towards reform which have been made by the Palestinians, Mr Straw told reporters "We've noted other progress that is being made and were keeping a very close eye on the security talks that are taking place." Editorial Ha'aretz Written by Andrew Beatty Edited by Lisbeth Kirk euobserver.com

To: TigerPaw who wrote (11180)	2/20/2003 8:46:49 PM
From: NITT	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 25898

re"What does "disarm" mean?" The burden of proof for disarmament in on the Iraqi regime. It means accounting for everything you had, proving you destroyed it or that you did not, and then destroying anything that is left. The inspectors are meant to be a means to verify what the Iraqis report, not a means to search for WMD. Any "THINKING" person would realize that Saddam and his crew are playing the entire world for fools... a few have chosen to call bullshit on him including "Junior"... I for one am glad. "Junior" is trying to get the UN to follow through on something after almost 12 years of Iraqi games, and he has given the UN a chance to be something other then irrelevant. Instead some in the UN chose to reward Iraq for something that is still very far from full cooperation. It has taken over 100K troops in the region and a strong threat of force to get Iraq to move an inch... what will it take for them to meet the requirement of the cease fire they signed up for over 12 years ago. My take is all it would take is a united UN, not your friendly debate society. BTW, not even the weapons inspectors, France, or Germany believe that the Iraqi regime has met the requirements for a verifiable disarmament; they just disagree on the means to that end. Nitt