-Caveat Lector- -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Friday, January 25, 2002 3:36 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [AL-AWDA-News] Bush Considers Actions Against Arafat
Bush Considers Actions Against Arafat By BARRY SCHWEID .c The Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush and his foreign policy advisers, convinced that Yasser Arafat's organization tried to buy weapons from Iran, met Friday to consider punitive actions that could include severing ties with the Palestinian Authority. In a private White House session, Bush and his national security team discussed its options, which also include closing Palestinian Authority offices in Washington, ordering U.S. Middle East envoy Anthony Zinni to suspend his peacemaking mission and placing Arafat's personal security force on the State Department's list of terrorist groups, according to several government officials who spoke on condition of anonymity. Cutting ties with Arafat could greatly complicate Bush's fragile war coalition by angering Muslims and driving a wedge between the United States and its Arab allies. It also would make it tougher for U.S. diplomats, dealing with only one party in the dispute, to ease Middle East tensions. For those reasons, severing ties was the least likely option to be accepted by Bush, said a senior administration official involved in the discussions. The official said Bush's team agrees that action needs to be taken against Arafat, but the advisers are split over how serious the steps should be. It was unclear whether Bush would make a decision Friday. One source said the action may be postponed, giving Arafat one more chance to avoid punishment. The advisers' meeting comes after Bush sent proof to three key Arab leaders that the Palestinian Authority was engaged in a weapons smuggling plot and asked them to put pressure on Arafat to make arrests, senior administration officials said. Israeli commandos early this month intercepted a ship carrying the 50 tons of rockets, mortars, explosives and other arms in the Red Sea and informed the Bush administration. Most of the evidence Bush included in his letters last week to Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt and King Abdullah II of Jordan was gathered by U.S. intelligence, diplomatic sources said Thursday. That underscored the Bush administration's conviction that Arafat's Palestinian Authority was involved. Arafat himself has denied any role and the Bush administration has hesitated to contradict him directly. But Israeli security officials say it was impossible for senior Palestinian Authority members to be involved in the plot first hatched in June without Arafat's personal awareness. They also said the weapons, if delivered to Palestinian militants, could have been used against Israel's Ben-Gurion airport and especially to pierce the reinforced surface of buses that carry tourists and Israeli civilians. Assistant Secretary of State William Burns called in ambassadors from two dozen Arab countries for a briefing Friday at the State Department. It is part of an administration campaign to rally the Arab world against terrorism and to compel Arafat to curb Palestinian attacks on Israel. The Palestinian Authority, under U.S. urging, has detained several suspects. But State Department spokesman Richard Boucher repeated on Thursday that Arafat had neither provided a satisfactory explanation of the smuggling nor arrested the key figures. According to Israeli security officials, the weapons were supplied by Iran and loaded on the ship there with the help of Hezbollah, a guerrilla group that is fighting a low-level cross-border war with Israel from southern Lebanon. Secretary of State Colin Powell publicly has demanded an explanation from Arafat about the smuggling, though Powell has said he has seen no evidence against the Palestinian leader. The administration has been turning up the heat on Arafat in recent days. White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said Thursday the president understands why Israel has confined Arafat to his West Bank headquarters. Fleischer, on Bush's behalf, demanded that Arafat eliminate terrorism, which he said posed ``a threat not only to Israel, but also to Arafat.'' ``The president understands the reason that Israel has taken the action that it takes, and it is up to Chairman Arafat to demonstrate the leadership to combat terrorism,'' Fleischer said. Arafat has been under virtual house arrest on the West Bank for nearly two months. Israeli soldiers are posted down the street. Bush plans to meet Feb. 7 with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who will be making his fourth visit to the White House to see Bush since March. Arafat has never been invited. AP-NY-01-25-02 0926EST Copyright 2002 The Associated Press. <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/";>ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
