Bush ends peace mission without breakthrough
Pastor Dale Morgan
Bush ends peace mission without breakthrough*
11 Jan 2008 17:36:34 GMT
Source: Reuters
By Tabassum Zakaria
KUWAIT, Jan 11 (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush wrapped up his
mission to Israel and the occupied West Bank on Friday, emboldened
enough to have predicted a peace treaty within a year but with no major
breakthroughs for his efforts.
Bush arrived on Friday evening in Kuwait, the first of five stops with
Arab allies he hopes will aid the fragile peace process and help contain
Iran's growing regional clout.
Bush met Kuwait's ruler, who thanked him for his efforts to make
progress on issues crucial to the Middle East.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said talks would now turn to
"the threats that we've seen in the Gulf, the problem of extremism,
whether it be extremism from al Qaeda, Sunni extremism, or whether it be
Iran and its tentacles, like Hezbollah and the part of Hamas that Iran
supports."
Gulf states have battled al Qaeda militants in recent years, but they
are also concerned about the crises in Lebanon and Iraq, as well as the
standoff over Iran's nuclear programme.
Kuwaiti media said the emir, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, would tell
Bush of his concerns that a U.S. strike on nearby Iran would destabilise
the Gulf, key to world oil supplies.
Bush is likely hear a similar message from other Gulf Arab leaders who
want to curb their Shi'ite Muslim neighbour's nuclear programme without
resorting to war.
Kuwait, which also neighbours Iraq and is a base for thousands of U.S.
troops, has said it will not allow the United States to use its
territory for any strike against Iran.
"The president will make very clear that the United States takes very
seriously its commitments to our allies in this region..." Rice said
aboard Air Force One on the way to Kuwait.
UPBEAT ON PEACE
Bush flew out of Tel Aviv after painting an upbeat picture from talks
this week with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian
President Mahmoud Abbas intended to build on a U.S.-hosted international
peace conference in November.
Sending a symbolic message, Bush ended the first leg of a week-long
Middle East tour by visiting the Mount of Beatitudes, where Jesus is
believed to have intoned "blessed are the peacemakers", and the ruins of
Capernaum on the Sea of Galilee.
Challenging sceptics, Bush said on Thursday there would be a signed
peace treaty before he left office in January 2009.
Olmert's spokesman said Israel endorsed Bush's call for a rapid peace
deal but made clear it does not see the final establishment of a
Palestinian state this year.
Mark Regev said Israel hoped for a "historic agreement" in 2008 that
would outline the framework of a future Palestinian state, with
implementation contingent on Palestinians meeting security commitments.
The White House had kept hopes for progress on a two-state solution
during Bush's visit low. Some analysts said his real goal was to find a
legacy other than the unpopular Iraq war.
Rice said the peace process had been stuck as the road map dictated
which sequence the moves by each side had to happen.
"What Annapolis did was to break that tight sequentiality and to say you
can do these in parallel," she said, referring to road map obligations
and negotiations for final status.
While Abbas and Olmert praised Bush's peace bid, neither offered
significant concessions to the U.S. leader.
Bush seemed to harden his tone towards U.S. ally Israel, urging an end
to "occupation" in the West Bank, something he has not done often and
rarely in such pointed fashion.
At the same time, he pressed Abbas to rein in militants and reaffirmed
Washington's commitment to Israel's security.
He left Abbas, whose Fatah group lost control of the Gaza Strip to Hamas
Islamists in June, and Olmert, who is also politically weak, with an
admonition to make difficult choices.
REACHING OUT
In travels over the next few days, Bush said he would urge Arab allies
to "begin to reach out" to Israel to help nurture the peace process.
After Kuwait, he will head to Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi
Arabia and Egypt.
Bush has accepted Israel's invitation to return for its 60th anniversary
celebrations and said he would use the visit "to help the peace process
move forward". Bush set no date for the trip but Israel's independence
day falls on May 8 this year.
However, a key hurdle to a peace deal is a sense among many Arabs of
U.S. bias in favour of Israel. There are also doubts about Bush's
newfound commitment to resolving the conflict.
"There isn't going to be a blinding flash in any of this, not on this
trip, not on the next trip but this is a process of moving forward,"
Rice said. "You will see that as the bilateral process continues to move
forward the Arabs will do more..." (Writing by Matt Spetalnick, Jeffrey
Heller and Lin Noueihed, Editing by Keith Weir)