Some Oppose Bush's Mideast Teacher Plan

SAVANNAH, Ga. - It may seem innocent enough to President Bush, the notion of training 100,000 teachers across the Middle East to improve the quality of education and perhaps also cut down on the chance that religious schools will crank out future terrorists.

Yet Arabs and Europeans at the Group of Eight summit here are bristling over this and other aspects of Bush's proposed Middle East democracy initiative. They consider it a heavy-handed effort to foist American ideas on a region with ideas of its own.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair tried on Wednesday to tamp down those worries.

"What we're doing today is to say, 'Look, sensible people sitting down and looking at the situation in the Middle East know there needs to be a process of reform and change,'" Blair said. "Now, that's not for us to dictate to people, but it is for us to help them get there."

Arab leaders say Bush must deal first with what they consider the Middle East's most pressing problem, the ongoing violence between Israelis and Palestinians.

King Abdullah II of Jordan, for one, came here focused on the plight of Palestinians "because no reform could be achieved away from finding a solution to this issue," said Jordan's official news agency, Petra.

The sentiment was much the same from Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose moderate Muslim country is already a democracy.

"As long as we don't solve these problems, as long as we don't achieve these, it won't be easy to implement the project," Erdogan said of the Palestinian-Israeli crisis, as he boarded a flight to the summit.

Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi cast the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as "a problem that infects the entire Middle East and which brings an increase, let us say, in hatred," and called also for a return to negotiations there.

In deference to such concerns, U.S. officials said the document presented to summit partners will include a paragraph that talks about the need to achieve peace on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

On top of everything else, the Europeans and Japanese want to know how much such proposed reforms might cost. A senior Bush administration official, who spoke anonymously Tuesday because talks on the subject were still ongoing, said Bush hopes to reach a political agreement with his G-8 counterparts this year without committing money, under the logic that they will ante up for it in later years.

Bush did extract a general pledge of support from Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Tuesday. According to a second U.S. official who briefed reporters about the meeting, Bush told the Japanese prime minister that his proposal gives leading economies a chance to encourage change from within Middle Eastern nations.

But their conversation was brief, the official said, and Bush planned to talk up the proposal with other leaders the next few days.

Bush's proposal is built around an idea that his national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, put frankly this week: Repression, lack of hope — and lack of education and jobs — create conditions in which growing numbers of young Arab men turn toward extremism.

The working draft of Bush's plan advocates reforms such as free elections, independent media and improved legal systems. It also suggests creating, by 2008, a "literacy corps" of 100,000 female teachers who would focus on reading and other basic skills for women.

It was unclear whether the teacher plan would survive in the final G-8 agreement because of leaders' objections about cost.

Bush's instincts are in the right place, said Brookings Institution scholar Susan Rice, who studies the security implications of poverty and inequality.

"It's less politically charged than going in and telling Arab governments how to democratize on our schedule," Rice said. "But it's a little awkward for the administration to throw this out there without a price tag, and without them making a specific commitment to what the U.S. share of this is going to be."

The teacher training proposal provides Bush with a way to accomplish a lingering post-Sept. 11 goal of reforming madrassas, the Islamic religious schools that sometimes are the only education available to children from poor families.

Some U.S. officials argue that some of those schools are run by radical groups who indoctrinate students to join terrorist operations.

In a memo last year, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld suggested creating a private entity to steer radical madrassas onto a more moderate course. In October, he questioned whether the U.S. military was "capturing, killing or deterring and dissuading more terrorists everyday than the madrassas and the radical clerics are recruiting, training and deploying against us."

EDITOR'S NOTE — Sonya Ross has covered national and international affairs for The Associated Press in Washington since 1993.

Some fun images here especially with the Chirac kissing Laura's hand. Reminds me of the Jay Leno skit.

President Bush and First Lady Laura Bush arrive on board a GEM (Global Electric Motor), an all-electric zero emission vehicle at the McGuirk House where they are hosting a dinner for leaders attending the G-8 Summit on Sea Island, Ga., Tuesday, June 8, 2004. (AP Photo/Martin Cleaver)

President Bush and European Council President Bertie Ahern, left, shake hands before the start of the morning plenary meeting at the G-8 Summit in Sea Island, Ga., on Wednesday June 9, 2004 (AP Photo/Martin Cleaver)

Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair greets U.S. President George W. Bush during the second day of the G8 summit on Sea Island, Georgia, June 9, 2004. Bush, declaring that world leaders were 'pulling' for Iraq's new president, discussed a possible NATO role in trying to stabilize the country at a Group of Eight summit. Photo by Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi partake during the morning plenary meeting at the G-8 Summit in Sea Island, Ga., on Wednesday June 9, 2004. (AP Photo/Laurent Rebours)

U.S. President George W. Bush greets Russian President Vladimir Putin during arrivals for the Plenary session at the G8 summit, in Sea Island, Georgia June 9, 2004. Bush, declaring that world leaders were 'pulling' for Iraq's new president, discussed a possible NATO role in trying to stabilize the country at a Group of Eight summit on Wednesday. REUTERS/Alexander Natruskin

U.S. President George W. Bush and Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin shake hands before the start of the Plenary Session at the G8 summit in Sea Island, Georgia, June 9, 2004. Bush, declaring that world leaders were 'pulling' for Iraq's new president, discussed a possible NATO role in trying to stabilize the country at a Group of Eight summit on Wednesday. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

President Bush welcomes Japanese Prime Miniser Junichiro Koizumi prior to their plenary meeting at the G-8 Summit on Sea Island, Ga., Wednesday, June 9, 2004. (AP Photo/Katsumi Kasahara)

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder arrives in an electric car for the start of the Plenary Session at the G8 summit in Sea Island, Georgia June 9, 2004. Bush, declaring that world leaders were 'pulling' for Iraq 's new president, discussed a possible NATO role in trying to stabilize the country at a Group of Eight summit on Wednesday. REUTERS/Paul McErlane

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi (R) is greeted by US President George W. Bush and US First Lady Laura Bush during the G8 Summit. The president corralled fellow G8 leaders to push his plans for political reform in the Middle East.(AFP/File/Tim Sloan)

U.S. President George W. Bush (greets German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder before the start of the Plenary Session at the G8 summit, in Sea Island, Georgia June 9, 2004. Bush, declaring that world leaders were 'pulling' for Iraq's new president, discussed a possible NATO role in trying to stabilize the country at a Group of Eight summit on Wednesday. REUTERS/Paul McErlane

U.S. President George W. Bush and French President Jacques Chirac shake hands for photographers before the start of the Plenary Session at the G8 summit in Sea Island, Georgia, June 9, 2004. The G8 leaders were expected to discuss a number of topics on their second day, including the spike in oil prices, the global economy, and the Middle East. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

Jordan's King Abdullah II, left, meets with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, right, at the G-8 Summit on Sea Island, Ga., Wednesday, June 9, 2004. (AP Photo/JAPAN POOL)

Afghan President Hamid Karzai gives a thumbs up upon his arrival at Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, Georgia. Karzai is enroute to Sea Island, Georgia for the G8 Summit(AFP/Robert Sullivan)

First Lady Laura Bush, left, greets French President Jacques Chirac, center, as President Bush greets Bernadette Chirac, not pictured, for dinner at the McGuirk House at the G-8 Summit on Sea Island, Ga., Tuesday, June 8, 2004. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, right, kisses First Lady Laura Bush's hand while President Bush looks as leaders atttending the G-8 Summit arrive for dinner at the McGuirk House in Sea Island, Ga., Tuesday, June 8, 2004. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Russian President Vladimir Putin greets U.S. first lady Laura Bush with a kiss during the arrivals for the social dinner at the G8 summit meetings in Sea Island, Georgia, June 8, 2004. The first day of the three day summit saw the world leaders hailing the United Nations' vote on Iraq sovereignty. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi (R) kisses U.S. President George W. Bush's cheek as first lady Laura Bush (L) looks on during the arrivals for the social dinner at the G8 summit meetings in Sea Island, Georgia, June 8, 2004. The first day of the three day summit saw the world leaders hailing the United Nations' vote on Iraq sovereignty. REUTERS/Alexander Natruskin

First lady Laura Bush (2nd L) and U.S. President George W. Bush welcome British Prime Minister Tony Blair and his wife Cherie to the social dinner at the G8 summit on Sea Island, Georgia, June 8, 2004. The G8 summit, hosted by President Bush behind moat-like security on Sea Island off the Georgia coast, is likely to be dominated by the future of Iraq and a U.S. push to promote democratic and economic reforms in the Middle East. REUTERS/Jim Young

Condoleezza Rice, National Security Advisor, left, Andrew H. Card, Jr., right, White House Chief of Staff, arrive at McGuirk House for dinner at the G-8 Summit on Sea Island, Ga., Tuesday, June 8, 2004. Man in center is unidentified. (AP Photo/Katsumi Kasahara)

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