1 - 7 March 2001
Issue No.523
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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 1 - 7 March 2001 Issue No.523 |
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Powell's priorities
President Hosni Mubarak found out about US-British air strikes against Iraq on 16 February, which killed two civilians and injured more than 20, from television reports. During US Secretary of State Colin Powell's stop in Cairo on Saturday, reports Nevine Khalil, American officials claimed that they had informed Cairo about their intended action. But the Egyptians stood their ground, and finally Powell told a joint news conference held on Saturday with Foreign Minister Amr Moussa that next time Washington will let its "friends" in the region know about such an action in advance.
Mubarak reviewing conditions and developments in the region with Abdullahh II of Jordan on Tuesday and sharing a joke with US Secretary of State Colin Powel on Saturday
"I know there is some unhappiness," Powell told the media. "We will always try to consult with our friends in the region so that they are not surprised and [we will] do everything we can to explain the purpose of our presence." Underlining Powell's own term to describe regional sentiments about the air strikes, Moussa said, "There is a feeling of 'unhappiness' at what is taking place in Iraq."
Powell came to the region to point an accusing finger at Saddam Hussein's regime as the reason the US took action against Baghdad and to listen to counter arguments "firsthand." Another goal of his visit was to stress to leaders in the region that the level of tension and violence caused by the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the Iraqi problem must be reduced to "stabilise the situation."
Powell's inaugural tour abroad took him to Brussels for talks with EU and NATO officials, Cairo, Tel Aviv, the West Bank, Kuwait, Riyadh, Amman and Damascus. "I'm going out to consult, not to lay down edicts," he said before landing in Cairo. "I'm going to listen to other ideas and report to the president, and see what seems to be appropriate after further consultations with the United Nations as well."
Mubarak was in Jordan on Tuesday for talks with King Abdullah II following Powell's visit and ahead of Arab summit to be held there later this month. The two men coordinated their positions and reviewed the regional situation in light of the new US administration and an anticipated hawkish government in Israel.
Powell's main goal seemed to be to direct discussions away from US policies and the air raids and focus on Saddam Hussein's regime. However, it was clear that for Cairo, US attacks against Iraq were a main item on the agenda but no issue would distract the region from the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
Moussa asserted that it is of paramount importance that Washington not lose sight of the need to relaunch the peace process. "The peace process is so important that derailing it or prolonging or procrastinating in this process would certainly affect the whole region and the stability of the Middle East in general," said Moussa.
However, Powell insisted that the Arab-Israeli conflict is viewed in Washington as only one element of the whole picture in the region. "Prioritisation doesn't work any longer, in my judgment," he noted, implicitly criticising the former administration.
He expounded on the US's intended approach on this matter following the swearing-in of Ariel Sharon's government. First, Washington will focus on reducing the level of violence; secondly, on putting a security apparatus in place; and thirdly, on lifting the Israeli blockade of Palestinian territories.
"When we get these three things moving again -- and it's going to take some time -- then we begin to see where we are," he said. "The United States will play its role aggressively, President Bush will be engaged, I will be engaged, but there are some things that have to happen first."
He said that the US was waiting to see the positions taken by Sharon, who is still trying to put together a coalition government after his election victory. "This is the time for all of us to not point fingers at one another, but do everything we can to reduce the level of violence," Powell stressed. "I hope that Prime Minister Sharon would want to engage on every level as soon as possible."
En route to the region, and again in Cairo, Powell said that the decade-old sanctions have "succeeded in keeping Iraq from rebuilding [its military machine] to the level that it was before. It's an army that's only one-third its original size. I think we ought to declare this a success. We have kept him in his box."
Powell indicated that Washington was willing to review the nature of sanctions against Iraq to curb their effect on ordinary citizens, while at the same time keeping the Iraqi regime in check. "We should constantly be reviewing our [sanctions] policies to make sure that they are directed toward [our] purpose," he noted.
Moussa stopped short of calling for sanctions to be lifted, but said they should be reconsidered. "Sanctions so far have affected the people rather than any regime," Moussa stressed.
Powell said he was open to suggestions to modify the sanctions, but the Egyptians did not offer any. Alternatively, Moussa, who has supervised a warming of trade and other ties with Iraq in recent months, said the focus should shift to the outcome of talks between Baghdad and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan which were held on Tuesday.
At the same time, Powell's appeals about the potential threat that Hussein's regime poses on the region apparently found no resonance in Cairo. "For us, I don't see that threat," said Moussa, with Powell at his side.
During his talks with Arab leaders, Powell apparently did not try to promote the idea of overthrowing Hussein's regime through support for the opposition Iraqi National Congress (INC). An American official said that the secretary of state did not bring the State Department official in charge of "regime change" on his tour.
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