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Re: NYTimes.com Article: Saudi Tells Bush U.S. Must Temper Backing ofIsrael (fwd) by Elson Boles 26 April 2002 15:10 UTC |
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But there are significant details omitted by Bumiller -- the absence of which shows her own personal bias. It was the late arriaval of Abdullah (incredibly over 10 minutes) which caused the meeting with Mr. Bush to run past 3:30. It was in fact this unexpected event which caused the disproportionaly extended meeting and led to the now famous Turkey sighting from Mr. Bush's (beige-colored Ford) pickup truck. > -----Original Message----- > From: wsn-owner@csf.colorado.edu [mailto:wsn-owner@csf.colorado.edu]On > Behalf Of Boris Stremlin > Sent: Friday, April 26, 2002 2:56 AM > To: WORLD SYSTEMS NETWORK > Subject: NYTimes.com Article: Saudi Tells Bush U.S. Must Temper Backing > ofIsrael (fwd) > > > It seems that the White House press corps has been infiltrated by > subversives from the theatre of the absurd. With apologies to any > real playwrights out there, here is my own dramaturgical > abstract of this article: > > ACT I: The Crawford Ranch > > Abdullah: If you don't rein in Sharon, the whole region is going to go up > in flames. > > Bush: Yes, I agree that Saddam is a menace, and must be dealt with > promptly. What suggestions do you have? > > ACT II: The Ranch Parking Lot > > Reporter: Why is there no joint press conference? > > Administration Official: The President looked the Prince in the eye. > They also saw a wild turkey - a good omen. > > ACT III: New York Times Editor's Office > > Elizabeth Bumiller: I'm not really sure how this story ties together. > > Editor: Make sure you provide a full menu of what the President and the > Prince consumed. > > Eplogue: The playwright makes a curtain call. > > Voice from Audience: Are you trying to insult my intelligence? Or are > you just nuts? > > Playwright: It's all part of my evil plan... > > > \----------------------------------------------------------/ > > > Saudi Tells Bush U.S. Must Temper Backing of Israel > > April 26, 2002 > > By ELISABETH BUMILLER > > > > > CRAWFORD, Tex., April 25 - Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi > Arabia told President Bush bluntly today that the United > States must temper its support for Israel or face grave > consequences throughout the Arab world, Saudi officials > said. > > In several sessions lasting five hours at the president's > central Texas ranch, the crown prince told Mr. Bush that if > the United States did not do more to stop incursions into > Palestinian areas by the forces of Prime Minister Ariel > Sharon, it would continue to lose credibility in the Middle > East and create more instability there, the Saudi officials > said. > > "If Sharon is left to his own devices, he will drag the > region over a cliff," Adel al-Jubeir, the foreign policy > adviser to the crown prince, said after the meetings > between Mr. Bush and the prince. "That does not serve > America's interests, and it does not serve Saudi Arabia's > interests." > > Mr. Bush and American officials, while they did not deny > that Prince Abdullah had presented his case forcefully, > offered a far more positive account of the meetings. > > "One of the really positive things out of this meeting was > that the crown prince and I established a strong personal > bond," Mr. Bush told reporters after the meeting. "We spent > a lot of time alone." > > Both Mr. Bush and Mr. Jubeir said the crown prince had not > threatened in any way to reduce Saudi oil exports to the > United States. A person close to the prince had suggested > on Wednesday that could happen if the United States > continued what the Saudis view as a one-sided policy toward > Israel. > > Saudi Arabia is America's second-largest foreign supplier > of oil, and in 2001 exported nearly 605 million barrels to > the United States, or 8.5 percent of what the country > consumed. > > "Saudi Arabia made it clear, and has made it clear > publicly, that they will not use oil as a weapon," Mr. Bush > said. > > Mr. Jubeir echoed the president. "Oil is not a weapon," he > said to reporters here. "Oil is not a tank. You cannot fire > oil." > > Saudi officials also denied today a suggestion from a > person close to the royal family who was quoted in The New > York Times that their government might demand that the > United States leave strategic military bases in Saudi > Arabia if the Bush administration refuses to rein in Mr. > Sharon. > > Mr. Bush, who a week ago infuriated the Arab world by > calling Mr. Sharon "a man of peace," said he had told > Prince Abdullah that he was counting on Israel to withdraw > its forces from Palestinian areas, including, he said, > resolving the standoffs in Ramallah and Bethlehem. > > "I made it clear to him that I expected Israel to withdraw, > just like I've made it clear to Israel," Mr. Bush said. > "And we expect them to be finished. He knows my position. > He also knows that I will work for peace. I will bring > parties along." > > "But I think he recognizes that America can't do it alone, > that it's going to require a unified effort," the president > added. "And one of the main things about this visit was to > solidify that effort." > > The meeting today seemed primarily to be a chance for the > Saudis to lecture the American president, to strengthen > their hand and quiet the growing unrest in their streets. > > No joint statement was issued afterward, although the White > House proposed one on Wednesday that was rejected by the > Saudis, an official familiar with the talks said. > > The Saudis objected to the United States' characterization > of a peace initiative proposed by the crown prince in > March, the official said. Specifically, the official said, > the United States emphasized the recognition of Israel in > the statement but did not include the requirement that > Israel withdraw to its 1967 borders. The prince's plan > calls for "normal relations" with Israel, the creation of a > Palestinian state and Israel's return to its 1967 > boundaries. > > A Bush administration official who briefed reporters after > the meeting did not explain the reason for the lack of a > joint statement. > > "You know, after these meetings, we sometimes have joint > statements, and we sometimes don't have joint statements," > the official said. "There is not going to be a joint > statement for this meeting." > Administration officials said the president and the prince > had discussed the idea of an international peace > conference, but had not come to a conclusion. > > "We haven't made any decision about whether we think an > international conference makes sense now," the > administration official said. "Any such conference would > have be to very well prepared." > > Saudi officials appeared skeptical about the idea, > particularly given Mr. Sharon's isolation of Yasir Arafat, > the Palestinian leader, in his compound in Ramallah, and > Mr. Sharon's refusal to have Mr. Arafat attend an Arab > League meeting in March. > "You can't have a peace conference if Sharon gets to decide > who attends and who doesn't attend," Mr. Jubeir said. > "That's not a peace conference. That's not going to fly." > > Mr. Bush and Prince Abdullah also discussed American > proposals to remove Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq, > American and Saudi officials said, offering no details of > the conversation. > > "The president, once again, noted that Saddam Hussein and > his efforts to acquire weapons of mass destruction are a > threat to the region," the administration official said. He > added: "The Saudis clearly understand the dangers from > Saddam Hussein. They live in his neighborhood. They know > what kind of regime that is." > > Mr. Jubeir said after the meeting that the United States > strategy for removing Mr. Hussein was not fully developed. > "We do not believe the policy of the administration has > been finalized," he said. > > But he nonetheless said Saudi Arabia would not allow the > United States to use Saudi bases to stage any future attack > against Iraq. > > "The administration is not at the point where they would > ask that question," Mr. Jubeir said. "Were they to ask that > question, our response would be that it would not serve the > interests of the U.S. and it would not serve the interests > of the region." > > Prince Abdullah arrived this morning at the airport in > Waco, Tex., where he was greeted by Secretary of State > Colin L. Powell, and was then driven for 50 minutes to Mr. > Bush's 1,600-acre ranch. > > The prince was 10 minutes late in arriving at the ranch, > where reporters could see the president in the breezeway of > the house shifting from foot to foot like an anxious host. > > The president and the prince met for two hours in the > morning, and spent part of that time one-on-one, > administration officials said. Afterward, Mr. Bush gave him > a tour of the ranch in his pickup truck. > > "He's a man who's got a farm and he understands the land, > and I really took great delight in being able to drive him > around in a pickup truck and showing him the trees and my > favorite spots," Mr. Bush said. "And we saw a wild turkey, > which was good." > > Afterward, the two had a lunch of beef tenderloin, potato > salad, brownies and ice cream. The lunch broke up after > 3:30 p.m., more than an hour after it was scheduled to end. > > http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/26/international/middleeast/26PREX. html?ex=1020809909&ei=1&en=ba73cda921d7a95d HOW TO ADVERTISE --------------------------------- For information on advertising in e-mail newsletters or other creative advertising opportunities with The New York Times on the Web, please contact onlinesales@nytimes.com or visit our online media kit at http://www.nytimes.com/adinfo For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com. Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company
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