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Ha'aretz. 1 October 2002. No hard feelings over siege, U.S. officials say. TEL AVIV -- Israel's abortive siege of Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat's headquarters has left no hard feelings toward Israel in the American administration and will not affect future relations, administration officials assured Jerusalem on Monday. The State Department has even instructed its representatives in the region not to act happy over Israel's capitulation or to say anything that smacks of "we told you so," but rather to emphasize the friendship between the two countries and the fact that "the matter is behind us." Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, for his part, has ordered Israeli officials to portray the withdrawal from the Muqata compound as acquiescence to American demands, and under no circumstances to attribute any role in the decision to a UN Security Council resolution calling for an end to the siege. A government source explained that Sharon wants to avoid setting a precedent of Israeli capitulation to UN demands. [Take note, Saddam Hussein.] Cabinet Minister Natan Sharansky said that government officials had failed to take into account how Washington would react to the operation as a possible hindrance to a future U.S. offensive against Saddam Hussein. "We did not assess the situation correctly, when we made the decision two weeks ago, the extent to which America had already begun the countdown to an attack on Iraq [N.B.], that just during those days America would enter into confrontations with the UN and Europe, and would be unable to tolerate one more confrontation," Sharansky told Israel Radio. Sharansky said that prior to taking the decision to besiege Arafat, "There were no hints from Washington" as to its negative reaction to the operation. " . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ProletarianNews http://www.utopia2000.org --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: [email protected] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
