Posted on 07/09/2003 6:32:58 AM PDT by Israel Insider
The United States reiterated its support for Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen), after the Palestinian leader quit as deputy head of the Fatah Central Committee and cancelled a scheduled meeting with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. A senior American official said that no one could strengthen Abu Mazen's shaky leadership more than Sharon. The U.S. plans to push Israel to remove more unauthorized outposts and release more Palestinian prisoners.
"We stand behind Prime Minister Abbas," U.S. State Department spokesman Philip T. Reeker said on Tuesday. Reeker said Abbas's leadership had produced important changes beneficial to the Palestinians.
Reeker's statements came just hours after U.S. Ambassador to Israel Daniel Kurtzer called Abu Mazen a "relatively weak man." Speaking to some 150 rabbis and Jewish lay leaders at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem, Kurtzer said Abu Mazen tends to "run away from problems rather than try to solve them."
Kurtzer reiterated U.S. President George W. Bush's assertion that the temporary Palestinian cease-fire should be utilized by the Palestinian Authority to dismantle the terrorist organizations. Kurtzer said the hudna (temporary cease-fire) was a "game of chicken" between the PA and Hamas, and Hamas didn't believe it would be dismantled.
The U.S. Embassy issued a statement on Tuesday asserting that Ambassador Dan Kurtzer never said Abbas was a "weak leader," the Jerusalem Post reported. The embassy statement said Kurtzer "did discuss the pressure [Abu Mazen] is under. As we have consistently said, we stand behind Prime Minister Abbas."
Meanwhile, Bush administration officials said on Tuesday that the U.S. planned to provide its first direct aid to the Palestinian Authority. The first installment of about $20 million would be used to improve basic services in Palestinian areas that are now being vacated by Israeli forces as part of the implementation of the "road map," Reuters reported.
The aid is intended to reinforce the chances of the "road map" peace plan's success, administration sources said.
U.S. now expects Israeli goodwill "gestures" The United States now expects Israel to make additional goodwill "gestures" to the Palestinians to beef up support for Abu Mazen, who quit the Fatah committee post and threatened to resign as prime minister following "internal Palestinian friction." Abu Mazen's moves followed arguments with PA Chairman Yasser Arafat and other Fatah members over his leadership of the negotiations with Israel. "No one can strengthen Abu Mazen vis-à-vis Arafat more than Ariel Sharon," a senior American official told Army Radio.
U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East John Wolf will present the American demands of Israel to Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz today, media sources reported. Wolf is expected to call on Israel to speed up the dismantling of unauthorized West Bank outposts, increase substantially the number of Palestinian prisoners it plans to release, and to remove roadblocks in areas where they are not needed for security purposes but rather serve as impediments to Palestinian movement.
Wolf told Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom on Tuesday that Israel should release, in particular, women, children and elderly prisoners. Wolf did not relate to the question of whether Israel should release members of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, Yediot Aharonot reported.
Wolf also called on Abu Mazen to retract his cancellation of a scheduled meeting today with Sharon, the paper said.
Israeli officials said the cancellation of the meeting would delay Israel's release of Palestinian prisoners. The official reason given by the PA for canceling the meeting was Israel's refusal to include Hamas and Islamic Jihad prisoners in the planned release.
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We stand behind Prime Minister Abbas … a relatively weak man … [who tends] to run away from problems rather than try to solve them.
Philip T. Reeker, Daniel Kurtzer, US State Dept.
That's the sort of thinking that led to 9/11.
And if the foggy bottom arabs, Powell and other more or less treasonous creeps are allowed to be seen to formulate US policy much longer, forget about anything but a democrat next election. Bush will be an untouchable backstabber, the various "turd ways" just too dam insane, and the dims win by default.
Good luck with the Democrats in place, running the Patriot Act USA.
But for some reason, what is acceptable for others isn't acceptable for Israelis. For some reason, the world expects a high standard for Israelis, and the barbaric acts of their neighbors are excused.
"Oh well, Saudis always behead, except when they're lopping off hands.
So Saddam had his huge plastic shredder used for humans.
Sudanese can enslave.
Congolese can eat each other.
What's surprising about all that?"
But Israel is - and will always be - called to a higher standard, which is a left-handed compliment, I suppose.
God help us, that is scary. Imagine the Hildabeast in the presidency, after the 2008 election. She had great fun with FBI files during Bill's presidency and that was well before the Patriot Act.
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