CRAWFORD, Texas, 27 April — The United States said yesterday that President George W. Bush has received from Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, an eight-point plan designed to reinvigorate Middle East peace efforts, describing the document as “constructive.”
During his five hours of talks with Bush on Thursday, Prince Abdullah had asked Washington to support the Arab peace plan and called for an immediate withdrawal of Israeli troops from Palestinian areas.
Meanwhile, Bush yesterday insisted Israel must end its military offensive in Palestinian areas “now,” making his first demand for an immediate withdrawal after another Israeli raid defied his earlier urgings. “There has been some progress, but it’s now time to quit it altogether. It’s time to end this. Well, we’ll see what happens. I know they’ve heard us,” Bush told reporters in an apparent response to Prince Abdullah’s warning that US interests in the region were at stake due to Washington’s unqualified support for the Jewish state.
Bush had never before personally said a withdrawal must happen “now,” although a top aide had used the word. “This clearly is the most insistent that the president has sounded, no question about it,” says University of Maryland Middle East analyst Shibley Telhami.
Bush’s comments appeared to be a direct response to Saudi demands that he take steps to rein in the Israeli offensive, Telhami said. They represented a raising of the stakes for Bush, whose credibility was undermined by Israel’s defiance of his April 4 speech and a subsequent backing off by the administration.
“It is less likely for the president to make this mistake twice and issue another hollow warning, without having the expectation it will be heeded by (Israeli Prime Minister Ariel) Sharon, and without having another step in mind if Mr. Sharon does not heed him,” Telhami said. Bush said he had told Prince Abdullah on Thursday that all the parties in the region had a responsibility to make peace and that Washington was committed to Israel’s security. But he also sounded a note of restraint against efforts in Congress to show support for Israel. He indicated he did not favor proposals to include new aid for Israel in a $200 million emergency spending measure.
“I’m not surprised that Congress would want to express its strong support of Israel. I also hope and believe that Congress recognizes we’ve got interests in the area, as well, beyond Israel; that we’ve got to have good relationships with the Saudis and the Jordanians and the Egyptians, and our foreign policy is aimed to do that.”
In his first face-to-face talks with Bush, Prince Abdullah was successful in driving home the message that Washington’s pro-Israeli stand was damaging US credibility in the Arab world.
Bush commended the crown prince for his new peace initiative, which offers normal Arab ties with Israel in return for its total withdrawal from the Arab land.
“Our two nations share a vision of two states, Israel and Palestine, living side-by-side in peace and security. All parties have responsibilities to help achieve that vision,” the president said. “The crown prince and I have established a strong personal bond. I am convinced that the stronger our personal bond, the stronger will be the relations between our two countries,” he added. Saudi foreign policy adviser Adel Al-Jubair said after the meeting that Bush and the crown prince had “fruitful discussions” and there were no problems in relations between the two countries.
An increasingly influential voice in the region, Prince Abdullah came to the meeting bearing the concerns of Arab nations outraged at the Israeli aggression on unarmed Palestinians. Saudi officials said talks between the two sides will continue this weekend in Houston to try to define the next steps toward Arab-Israeli peace.
Al-Jubair told reporters that Prince Abdullah had warned Bush about the direction of US policy in the Middle East.
“The crown prince speaks directly. He is sincere and he doesn’t mince words — just like the president,” Al-Jubair said. “The message is, if the violence does not diminish, there will be grave consequences for the US and its interests in the region,” he added.
He said the fundamental difference between the two nations is that “the US thinks Arafat is the problem, and we think Sharon is the problem.” Sharon’s actions constitute a real threat to peace in the region and could jeopardize relations between the United States and other Arab countries, Al-Jubair said. “If Sharon is left to his own devices, he will drag the whole region to a cliff,” he said.
Prince Abdullah later met with a number of retired American employees of Saudi Aramco at Waco airport.
