14 - 20 March 2002
Issue No.577
|
Al-Ahram Weekly Online 14 - 20 March 2002 Issue No.577 |
||
| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Current issue | Previous issue | Site map | ||
Cheney's diplomacy
Despite spiralling Israeli violence in the occupied territories, US Vice-President Dick Cheney's current 11-nation regional tour is likely to focus on Iraq, Anayat Durrani and Thomas Gorguissian assess the tour in Washington
The Palestinian-Israeli conflict and Iraq are two items at the top of US Vice-President Dick Cheney's agenda during his 10-day, 11-nation tour that will include stops in nine Arab states, besides Turkey and Israel.
Cheney's trip comes in anticipation of a shift in the US-led war on terrorism to Iraq against a backdrop of peaking Israeli-Palestinian violence.
The first part of Cheney's trip took him to London on Monday, where he met with Prime Minister Tony Blair. From there, he flew to Jordan for discussions with King Abdullah. Cheney, who served as US secretary of defence during the 1991 Gulf War, comes well prepared for his Middle East trip. He is accompanied by a top State Department official on Middle East issues and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the White House's top counter-terrorism official, and a brigadier-general who serves as a top aide to General Tommy Franks, chief of US forces in the region.
During a joint news conference with Blair, Cheney said they would discuss an underlying theme of his tour, "the threat posed by weapons of mass destruction." Rallying the support of the US's top ally, Britain, in confronting Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, is key to the strategy. Although Cheney is not expected to highlight the issue of impending military action against the Iraqi president in his meetings with Arab leaders, he will stress US plans to confront Iraq, possibly with the use of military force.
Ousting Hussein from power has been one of President Bush's long-term goals, believed by some analysts to be seeking to finish what his father started.
Senior officials have discussed several options regarding ways of toppling the Iraqi leader, such as engaging in direct military action, sponsoring a local insurgency, supporting a coup, or a combination of the three. Cheney's consultations will be a major contributing factor in deciding US strategy toward Iraq.
The US vice-president has yet to speak publicly about carrying Washington's war on terrorism to Iraq, though he has said that states developing weapons of mass destruction are a primary US concern. Cheney has already made clear that his trip is not about "announcing decisions," but rather "to conduct frank discussions and solicit the views of important friends and allies." The move goes some way towards countering criticism, most vehemently expressed by European countries, that the United States is acting "unilaterally."
Iraq is one of three nations, along with Iran and North Korea, that Bush has branded part of an "axis of evil." The pariah country has been under pressure to allow UN weapons inspectors into sensitive military installations as a way of proving that it does not possess weapons of mass destruction.
Iraq's vice-president, Taha Yassin Ramadan, stated that Baghdad will not allow the return of UN weapons inspectors whom he accused of spying. He said the decision remains "firm and won't change."
Discussion has mounted, since the 11 September strikes on America, regarding the possible expansion of the war on terrorism to Iraq, despite a lack of evidence linking Iraq to the attacks. Some analysts warn, however, that military action on Iraq could have disastrous repercussions in the Arab world, where escalating violence between Palestinians and Israelis is setting the region aflame.
US special envoy Anthony Zinni is scheduled to return to the region today on a truce mission, following the deaths of nearly 200 people, the majority Palestinians, in the bloodiest week since the Palestinian uprising began in September 2000. The conflict has claimed the lives of at least 1,040 Palestinians and 333 Israelis so far.
According to US officials, Zinni will propose stationing American observers in Palestinian territories as part of a renewed diplomatic push to end the violence, a long-standing request of Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat.
The most delicate and pressing issue in the Middle East remains the resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Though the Bush administration has supported the peace process and the eventual creation of a Palestinian state verbally, it has made little effort to bring Arafat and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to the negotiating table. The Bush administration's main interest in the Middle East has centred squarely on Iraq, a marked policy shift from the Clinton administration's focus on resolving the Israeli-Palestinian issue.
Some analysts believe that achieving Arab support for the Bush administration's Iraqi policy may prove difficult as long as violence continues in the occupied territories.
US officials believe that Arab leaders may demand that the US take a more active role in the peace process in exchange for cooperation on Iraq. Cheney, however, has denied any linkage between the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the Iraqi issue, terming it "inappropriate." During his visit to the region, Cheney said he will include Zinni's efforts and the Tenet and Mitchell proposals for a cease-fire and renewed peace talks in his discussions with Arab leaders. The proposals were drafted last year by CIA chief George Tenet assisted by an international commission led by former senator George Mitchell.
Saudi Arabia's peace initiative for the Middle East will also be discussed during the trip. The Saudi peace initiative has been well received by the US, although officials say the main priority for Zinni during his Middle East trip would be reaching a cease-fire agreement.
In addition to the Palestinian-Israeli crisis, another factor that could potentially upset Cheney's trip is a nuclear policy review leaked to the Los Angeles Times last Saturday which outlines a contingency plan for using nuclear weapons against seven countries -- China, Russia, Iraq, North Korea, Iran, Libya and Syria. The report has caused ripples of apprehension within the international community, especially those countries who are on the target list.
However, in a joint news conference with Blair, the US vice president sought to downplay the significance of the LA Times report. "The United States does not target nuclear weapons on any nation on a day-to-day basis," he said. "The notion that we are preparing pre- emptive nuclear strikes against seven countries, I would say, is a bit over the top."
© Copyright Al-Ahram Weekly. All rights reserved
 |
|
|||||||||||||||||
| ARCHIVES Letter from the Editor Editorial Board Subscription Advertise! |
WEEKLY ONLINE: www.ahram.org.eg/weekly Updated every Saturday at 11.00 GMT, 2pm local time weeklyweb@ahram.org.eg |
 Al-Ahram Organisation |
Recommend this page