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Change in US policy towards ME:Washington Post by Saima Alvi 11 April 2002 11:49 UTC |
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DAWN INTERNET EDITION (dawn.com) 11 April 2002 Thursday Powell meets Arafat on Saturday: Change in policy ================================================= WASHINGTON, April 10: This week's shift in the United States position on the Middle East brought about by the Israeli aggression in the West Bank was again underlined on Wednesday, in remarks by the White House. After days of arguing that Palestinian attacks had to end and a ceasefire arranged before political talks could proceed, the Bush administration has now recognized that the two cannot be separated. This is a victory for the Palestinian argument and a defeat for Israel, which was insisting on a prior ceasefire and an undertaking by Yasser Arafat to halt suicide bombings and other attacks. White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer said at his briefing on Wednesday that the two aspects, a ceasefire and the start of political talks, were intertwined and made common sense. It was also announced on Wednesday that Secretary of State Colin Powell would meet Mr Arafat on Saturday, in another modification of the earlier administration policy of disdaining high-level contacts with the Palestinian leader. In Madrid on Tuesday, Mr Powell said a truce pact would be 'instantly linked' to political discussions. The shifts in the US position have come about partly because of the impossibility of defending Israel's brutal tactics in its current military offensive against the Palestinians, and partly because of domestic and foreign pressure. Even Jewish groups like Tikkun have taken out advertisements distancing themselves from the more pro-Zionist bodies, and called for the creation of an international peace-keeping force under the United Nations and led by the US, and for the setting up of an international peace conference based on the Saudi proposals as enunciated by Crown Prince Abdullah. There have also been several public demonstrations in US cities against the Israeli aggression, with a large one reported from the University of California at Berkeley, which was at the centre of the anti-Vietnam agitation in the 60s. Arab activists have also organized rallies before the White House and the State Department in Washington. European countries have been particularly outspoken about Israeli actions and US backing for them. Germany was reported on Tuesday to have cut off military aid to Israel in what virtually amounts to imposing sanctions against Tel Aviv. The Bush administration also appears to have been shaken by the depth of the anti-Israel and anti-US demonstrations held in several Arab cities. The Washington Post said on Wednesday the shift in US attitudes in the 12 days since Israel laid siege to the Palestinian towns reflected the ascendancy of Secretary Powell's views within President Bush's inner circle that the US had to become more involved in brokering the Israel-Palestine dispute, including working with the Palestinians, before any more damage was done to American standing in the Middle East
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