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ZOA TO BUSH: THE QUARTET IS SEVERELY BIASED AGAINST ISRAEL AND SHOULD BE DISBANDED NEW YORK- The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) is urging the Bush administration to disband the Quartet in response to the Quartet members' complete embrace of Arab demands against Israel. The Quartet, consisting of the U.S., the United Nations, Russia, and the European Union, was established with the support of the Bush administration in order to take part in the Arab-Israeli negotiating process. But instead of facilitating peace, the Quartet has completely sided with Arab demands. A statement issued by the Quartet on May 3, 2004,...

Text: Powell denies any issues "prejudged"- Verbatim transcript of Quartet press conference Verbatim transcript of Quartet press conference - New York, 4 May 2004 www.un.org/apps/sg/sgstats.asp?nid=911 [Powell: The President also said - and this gets to the heart of your question - that we have to consider certain realities on the ground. The parties have to consider them as they go into final status discussions. But ultimately, all of the issues that you touch on are matters to be resolved between the parties themselves. And we did not prejudge. We made a statement that what we believe was appropriate - what...

UNITED NATIONS - The United States and three peacemaking partners called Tuesday for "responsible and accountable" Palestinian leaders who would crack down on terrorists and welcomed Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (news - web sites)'s proposal to withdraw from Gaza. The statement, issued after a 2 1/2-hour meeting at the United Nations (news - web sites) hosted by Secretary-General Kofi Annan (news - web sites), drew Palestinian criticism and Israeli praise. The Palestinians' U.N. observer, Nasser Al-Kidwa, said the United States dominated the deliberations, which issued a statement that amounted to nothing more than "mumbling that could mean anything." By...

The sponsors of the road map peace plan will meet in New York on May 4 to try to give new impetus to the stalled plan, according to the European Union's foreign policy chief, Javier Solana. The road map, drafted by the so-called Quartet - the EU, the United States, the United Nations and Russia - has been somewhat sidelined by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's unilateral disengagement plan, which gained the support of US President George W. Bush but is in great controversy among the rest of the Quartet members. Solana told reporters after meeting UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on...

It was never much of a secret that Saddam Hussein was a crooked dictator. But there are allegations that the former leader of Iraq wasn't the only one who was corrupt. The United Nations has agreed to an independent probe of the program it set up to let Saddam sell oil-- to feed his hungry people. The investigation could uncover the dirty truth about a humanitarian program-- polluted by greed. For years there have been allegations of corruption in the U.N.'s Iraqi oil-for-food program. Now it's bubbling over into a full-fledged scandal. The corruption charges first surfaced last January--...

A top-level meeting of the international Quartet sponsoring the Middle East road map to peace is due to take place in Berlin on April 28, a senior European Union diplomat said on Friday. EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana earlier told reporters as he arrived for a meeting with the bloc's foreign ministers in Ireland that the talks would "probably" be around that date. "We plan for a Quartet meeting in Berlin on that date at the level of principals," the diplomat said. Responding to questions on the backing offered by Washington this week for Israel's claim to parts of...

Only three months after the UN Security Council told President George W. Bush to take his deck of cards and get out, it is hard to believe that the president now appears as UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's lackey in the Middle East. For popular consumption, in America the road map is called the "US" road map, but its authorship is not American. It is a Quartet road map, the US being only one of four members, along with the UN, the European Union (EU), and Russia. In essence the road map was substantially written by UN players and the...

PCPO Poll: 40.5% support Abu Mazen, 19.6% comply w/Tanzim disarmament, 23.9% serious reformation of PA PCPO Poll of Palestinians: 40.5% support Abu Mazen, 19.6% comply w/Tanzim disarmament, 23.9% serious reformation of PA PCPO Poll no. 111. Date: 23, April 2003 A poll carried out by the Palestinian Center for Public Opinion (PCPO) and Prepared by President Dr. Nabil Kukali. (55.3%) Support to varying degrees the President Arafat (40.5%) Support, to varying degrees Mahmoud Abbas "Abu Mazen" as a Palestinian Prime Minister. Majd Kokaly-Information Department: A poll recently conducted by the PCPO and prepared by Dr.Nabil Kukali included a random sample...

Lapid: 'Road Map' Is The Way To Go, With Modifications (IsraelNN.com) Minister of Justice (Shinui) Tommy Lapid stated the US' 'Road Map' plan is the correct plan, but in order for him to support it, some modifications must be implemented. He added that after an American victory in Iraq there would be progress with the PA, favorable to Israel, explaining that once and for all, the PA would have to bring a total cessation to the terrorism and empower Abu Mazen to make the necessary changes in the PA EU Issues Statement Condemning Israeli Policies (IsraelNN.com) The European Union...

As the hour of decision draws near in Iraq, a separate Middle East moment of truth for George Bush and Tony Blair - a battle to implement the "road map for Israeli-Palestinian peace" - may also be close at hand. For months, the Bush administration, facing Arab and European fury over its handling of the Iraq crisis, has signalled that the end of the Gulf war would see the dawn of a fresh and whole-hearted diplomatic offensive based on the U.S., UN, EU and Russian-backed road map. The war in Saddam Hussein's Iraq is surely far from over, but where...

Feb. 20, 2003 Quartet envoys call for immediate truce in Isreali-Palestinian conflict By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS LONDON - The United States, Russia, the United Nations and the European Union called Thursday for an immediate, comprehensive cease-fire in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Representatives of the so-called Quartet, meeting in London, discussed the adoption of a peace plan that calls for a democratic Palestinian state to be established alongside Israel, they said in a statement. It said the envoys discussed the next steps toward the adoption and implementation of the Quartet's road map, "as it is the means for progress toward the vision...

Feb. 20, 2003 PM Bureau chief: US not linking roadmap plan to aid request By JANINE ZACHARIA Senior Israeli officials met their US counterparts Thursday to continue discussions on Israel's request for a $12 billion aid package that would include $4 billion in direct assistance and $8 billion in loan guarantees. Prime Minister Sharon's bureau chief Dov Weisglass, who led the delegation, said he expected "to conclude the information parameters of the negotiations." Asked whether the US administration tried to enforce a linkage of its demands of Israel according to President George W. Bush's 'roadmap' plan for Palestinian statehood with...

European Union, Russian, and UN special Middle East envoys met in Ramallah Tuesday with Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat to prepare for a number of meetings on Palestinian reform and the road map scheduled for next week in London. One European diplomatic official said that the three Miguel Moratinos of the EU, Andrei Vdovin of Russia, and Terje Roed-Larsen of the UN paid a joint visit on Arafat and asked him to "take bold decisions and push for security reform in the PA." The US, by contrast, has not sent a senior representative to meet with Arafat since President George...

Feb. 12, 2003 Quartet envoys, minus the US, meet Arafat By HERB KEINON The European Union, Russian and United Nations special Mideast envoys met in Ramallah Tuesday with Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat to prepare for a number of meetings on Palestinian reform and the road map scheduled for next week in London. One European diplomatic official said that the three, Miguel Moratinos from the EU, Andrei Vdovin from Russia, and Terje Roed-Larsen from the UN, paid the joint visit on Arafat and asked him to "take bold decisions, and push for security reform in the PA." The US, by...

Throwing Israel to the Dogs Emanuel A. Winston 09 February 2003 Who are the dogs? Packs of dogs can be extremely dangerous, particularly when there is a past history of their savaging a victim. The pack to which I refer is the "Quartet", which is gathering to close in on Israel. The "Quartet" is comprised of the United Nations, the U.S. State Department, the European Union and Russia. Let us examine some past history of these dogs in the savage pack. The United Nations, led now by Kofi Annan and driven by a large block of Arab nations, has...

Jordan marks King's birthday As he launched the 'Jordan First' drive, His Majesty continued efforts to bring about peace in Mideast, resolve Iraq crisis through dialogue By Francesca Sawalha AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah marks his 41st birthday today having begun the new year calling on the international community to work towards rebuilding trust between nations and peoples. This past year has again brought significant challenges to Jordan, and King Abdullah has continued as the vanguard of efforts to bring about peace in the Middle East, push for dialogue in resolving the Iraqi crisis, while at the same time...

<p>President Bush and Vice President Cheney meet with diplomats from the United Nations, European Union and Russia on Friday.</p> <p>WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A draft "road map" drawn up by the so-called "Mideast quartet" says the ultimate goal for the troubled region is a "final and comprehensive settlement of the Israel-Palestinian conflict by 2005" -- a process that must first begin with an immediate cease-fire.</p>

Christians Support Israel, International Pressure Increases By Chris MitchellCBN News Middle East Correspondent CBN.com – JERUSALEM — Top U.S., UN, Russian and European ministers, known as The Quartet, will meet in Washington next month to discuss the so-called "road map" for peace in the Middle East. It is a step-by-step plan to establish a Palestinian state by 2005. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon tried to postpone the talks until after Palestinian and Israeli elections in January. But Secretary of State Colin Powell chose to proceed with the meeting. While The Quartet plans to discuss a Palestinian state next month, it...

Jordanian FM: Arab states should join 'Quartet' committee By The Associated Press AMMAN, Jordan - Arab states should be allowed to join the "Quartet" committee charged with trying to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Jordan's foreign minister said on Sunday. The so called Quartet comprises the United States, Russia, European Union and United Nations and has been leading recent efforts to end the two-year-long Mideast crisis. Marwan Muasher, the Jordanian foreign minister, said members of an Arab committee, including Jordan, Egypt, Syria, Saudi Arabia, the Palestinians, Lebanon, Yemen, Morocco and Bahrain, have requested to join the Quartet. Muasher's call was carried...