Posted on 06/24/2002 8:56:34 AM PDT by Lance Romance
Critics Question Bush Palestine Plan
Mon Jun 24,11:33 AM ET
By SCOTT LINDLAW, Associated Press Writer
As President Bush ( newsprepares to roll out his Mideast peace blueprint, members of Congress and Palestinian leaders are already expressing doubts about its core goal — provisional Palestinian statehood.
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One administration official said Monday he believed Bush intended to deliver his speech in the afternoon. But a high-ranking White House official spread his arms in a shrug when asked about Bush's plan, saying the president had not communicated his intentions. The officials cautioned that events in the Middle East could again force a change.
Bush told reporters traveling with him to Port Elizabeth, N.J.: "You'll hear when I'm ready."
Israeli tanks encircled Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat ( news - web sites)'s badly damaged headquarters and barricaded the front gate with debris as the army seized control of Ramallah on Monday. In the southern Gaza Strip ( news - web sites), Israeli helicopters fired missiles at two cars, killing six Palestinians and injuring five, Palestinians said. Four of the dead belonged to the militant group Hamas, the movement said.
A senior White House official reaffirmed Sunday that Bush would outline a step-by-step proposal for establishment of a Palestinian state contingent on democratic reforms. The plan would create the state within provisional borders late this year or early next year, provided that enough measurable progress has been made in reforming the Palestinian Authority ( news - web sites) and stemming terrorism.
The thorniest issues — such as final borders, the control of Jerusalem and the return of refugees — would be left to negotiations between Israel and the provisional state.
Bush delayed an announcement last week after two suicide bombings in Jerusalem killed 26 Israelis and the Israeli army began seizing Palestinian territory in the West Bank.
Ahead of the official announcement, influential lawmakers and a Palestinian official challenged the administration's proposal.
Shaath said his people would greet Bush's proposal for interim status "positively," but he was skeptical about its central provision.
"There is no such a thing as a provisional state," he said on "Fox News Sunday."
Still, Shaath said he was eager for the United States to lay out a peace plan soon. "The important thing is to have the United States involved with the international community because we cannot do it on our own with the Israelis. We need a third party, and there's no better than the Americans," he said.
"I don't know what a provisional state means," Sen. Joseph Lieberman ( news, bio, voting record), D-Conn., said on CBS' "Face the Nation." "Either you're a state or not a state."
What's needed is a permanent Palestinian state, Lieberman said, and the way to start is for Bush to send Secretary of State Colin Powell ( news - web sites) back to the region and have him bring the parties together around the plan offered by Saudi Arabia — Arab peace with Israel in exchange for a Palestinian state on land Israel won in the 1967 war.
"It's important that the president get back on the field here," Lieberman said. "The problem here is that this is going nowhere." He proposed substantial U.S. economic aid to Palestinians. He also would allow more Palestinians into America as part of an effort to improve ties and separate them from the culture of suicide bombing.
Sen. Richard Shelby ( news, bio, voting record), R-Ala., called the idea of an interim state "a dicey proposition right now. I don't know how you can create a Palestinian state at the moment with all of the violence that's going on, all of the terrorist attacks," he told ABC's "This Week."
Israeli Defense Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer said "the offer of President Bush will be welcomed if this will be under the feeling that all of the terror activities is somehow calmed, or at least someone (does) something in order to bring it lower than it is right now."
Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres said he would embrace an interim-state proposal. "I think the whole region is awaiting the speech of the president. As a matter of fact, things are being (delayed) because there is this expectation for the announcement by the president," he said.
Several of those interviewed Sunday expressed growing skepticism about Yasser Arafat's ability to lead the Palestinians.
"I think he's at a point where he has lost control," Lieberman said. "It's time for a change."
Shaath said Arafat is the elected leader of the Palestinians and will face elections again in January.
Sen. John Kerry ( news, bio, voting record), D-Mass., accused the administration of a "catastrophic" mismanagement of the Mideast crisis by engaging only fitfully there. "There is no continuity, there is no fundamental plan," he said.
"They sent mixed signals to every side, if any signals at all," Kerry said on NBC's "Meet the Press." "And in the end, I think they have contributed significantly to their own dilemma and to the dilemma of the Middle East today as a result of that."
Tell us what you would do, with mass suicide bombings, Israeli retaliation and a religious battle that has raged since 1947 Sen. Ketchup.
Bush inherited a bad situation here that has been the bane of all presidents since the 1950's.
However, the most common denominator in this equation is Arafat. His state sponsored terrorism has gotten out of his control (most of the time with a wink and a nod). Offer the Palestinian state one more time, with less than was offered before and if Arafat can't/won't take it, he must be replaced.
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