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Pastimes : Rarely is the question asked: "is our children learning" -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: John Sladek who wrote (1794)	1/11/2004 8:41:33 AM
From: John Sladek	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2171

10Jan04-Tim Harper-U.S. softens stand on Iraq contracts Canada may yet get chance to bid Rice opens door to role in rebuilding TIM HARPER WASHINGTON BUREAU WASHINGTON—Canada could be allowed to bid on lucrative Iraqi rebuilding contracts in the months to come, U.S. national security adviser Condoleezza Rice says — a move that could mark a thawing of relations between the Bush White House and Ottawa. Rice signalled Washington's flexibility yesterday as U.S. President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Paul Martin prepare to meet for the first time Tuesday, over breakfast at a summit of hemispheric leaders in Monterrey, Mexico. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Uncle Sam and us -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A decision last month to freeze out countries that did not send soldiers to fight alongside Americans in Iraq from bidding on the $18.6 billion (U.S.) in reconstruction contracts had been seen as a slap at Ottawa in light of Canada's pledge of $300 million (Cdn) for the rebuilding process and the deployment of Canadian troops to Afghanistan as part of the war on terrorism. "Not everything is going to be let at once, and as further contracts are let, as further funds are released over the next several months, then we can review ... the circumstances and the changed circumstances for different countries," Rice said. "And I think that we will talk to the Canadians about this. I think there's some understanding of where we're going." Rice said $5 billion (U.S.) in contracts will be let shortly, but the remaining $13 billion could be reviewed. She also reminded Ottawa that anyone can bid on subcontracts. Rice met reporters to outline Bush's agenda for the two-day Summit of the Americas in Mexico, which includes the Bush-Martin meeting but which, from Washington's perspective, is all about repairing frayed relations with their neighbour on the southern flank. Mexico and Canada both opposed Bush's invasion of Iraq, supported by Britain, Spain and what he called a "coalition of the willing," but the former governor of Texas this week proposed a major overhaul of the U.S. immigration system, a move that would give millions of undocumented Mexicans status as guest workers. That proposal pleased Mexican President Vicente Fox. Rice said Washington was "well past" its differences with Mexico over Iraq and laid out an agenda for the meeting between Bush and Fox, the first foreign leader Bush visited after he won the 2000 election. She was more vague about the Martin meeting, saying only that Bush looked forward to his initial talks with the new Prime Minister. The passage of time, and the change in Canadian government, has clearly tempered the White House view of relations with Ottawa. The last time Rice dealt with bilateral relations, on the eve of last spring's G-8 summit in France, she said the Canadian decision on Iraq was a "disappointment that will not go away easily and it will take some time" to heal. The relationship between Bush and former prime minister Jean Chrétien was coolly civil at best and downright testy at worst, but Washington is well aware that Martin is hewing to most of Chrétien's policies, including the lack of support for the Iraq mission, plus moving forward on social programs dealing with same-sex unions and decriminalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana. Martin has signalled that relations with Washington are a priority and, as a first step, the two governments will exchange letters in the coming days to formalize discussions about Canada's participation in a continental missile defence system. "We have to be at the table to essentially make sure that whatever decisions that are going to be taking place, are taking place in Canada's interest," Martin told reporters. Bush will meet Martin over breakfast on the second day of the summit, after the U.S. president sits down with his host Fox, Chilean President Ricardo Lagos and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva — with whom Bush is involved in a messy dispute over his program to fingerprint and photograph visitors who need visas to enter the United States. Brazilian authorities are now fingerprinting Americans upon their arrival in the country. Bush will also meet Bolivian President Carlos Mesa and Argentine President Nestor Kirchner, just as Kirchner's left-of-centre government warned that the days of automatic allegiance to Washington have ended and the country's interior minister called Bush's secretary of state for the region, Roger Noriega, an "insolent individual." Yesterday, Rice said she knows there is a perception in some parts of the world that somehow, after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, the United States lost interest in anything that didn't relate to terrorism. "It's just not true," she said. She pointed to the fact Washington's free trade agreement with Mexico and Canada had "broadened and deepened" since then and border talks with both countries have led to co-operation on matters beyond terrorism. "It may be too much to hope that this meeting will solve bilateral disputes," said André Beleieu, a Canada-U.S. analyst at the Washington-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies, but "one should hope that both leaders will use this opportunity to engage their ally and start building a solid foundation for future meetings." Washington will also use the meeting in its backyard to again draw attention to its wish to oust Cuban leader Fidel Castro. Rice was critical of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's relationship with Castro. Washington has accused the two men of fomenting anti-American sentiment in the region. "It is beyond me to understand why anybody who believes in democracy or wants people to believe that they believe in democracy would want to have anything in that regard to do with Fidel Castro," she said, "because that's the one truly undemocratic regime in the region." The Bush administration has suspended semi-annual immigration talks with Cuba, saying Havana has repeatedly refused to discuss certain technical and political issues. "Cuba is an anachronism," Rice said. thestar.com