-Caveat Lector- http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=174503&contrassID=1&subContrassID=1&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y
Tuesday, June 11, 2002 Tamuz 1, 5762 Israel Time: 05:05 (GMT+3) Last update - 07:49 10/06/2002 PM meets NSA Rice; will tell Bush: No pullback to 1967 borders By Aluf Benn and Daniel Sobelman Bush and Mubarakat a news conference Saturday in Camp David. (Photo: AP) Prime Minister Ariel Sharon met with U.S. National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice on Sunday, starting off his visit to the United States, in which he will deliver one basic message: "No withdrawal to the 1967 borders." Sharon will also tell his American counterparts that he opposes a timetable for a final status agreement with the Palestinians. During his talks with top officials in Washington, Sharon will emphasize that Israel's willingness to take chances under any future peace agreement framework will increase if it has a credible Palestinian partner. Sharon will meet Monday with President George Bush at the White House. It will be their sixth meeting since both men took up their current roles. Ahead of his White House talks, Sharon has published an article in Sunday's New York Times on the "strategic horizons of peace." In an analysis of regional developments since the 1967 Six-Day War, Sharon concludes that Israel must not return to the 1967 borders, since they endanger its existence. He calls for adherence to UN Resolution 242 as a basis for negotiations, since the resolution acknowledges that states in the region have a right to uphold safe, recognized borders, and does not enjoin a full withdrawal from the territories. Sharon rejects both a peace initiative which Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak brought to the U.S. presidential retreat at Camp David over the weekend, and a peace plan drafted by the U.S. State Department. Sharon is unhappy about both plans because they propose that the 1967 borders ought to be used as a basis for an agreement, and they also set out a three-year timetable for the consummation of an Israeli-Palestinian final status accord. Sharon opposes the imposition of a timetable for a final status accord, but he is willing to accept the establishment of a Palestinian state under a long-term interim agreement. Sharon's main lobbying point during his U.S. visit was reinforced Saturday by his predecessor, Ehud Barak, who published an article in The Washington Post calling on the U.S. and the international community not to force Israel to withdraw to the 1967 borders. Such a demand on Israel would constitute the conferral of a prize to terror, Barak argued. Barak added that the U.S. should act first in Iraq to bring about the removal of Saddam Hussein's regime; such a change in Baghdad, Barak maintained, will create a "new Arab world," and a new Palestinian leadership. Bush says no timetable for Palestinian state U.S. President George W. Bush on Saturday sidestepped Arab pleas to impose a deadline for Palestinian statehood while Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak defended Yasser Arafat and urged, "Give this man a chance." Ending weekend talks on the Mideast crisis, Bush and Mubarak agreed that the Palestinian Authority must enact political reforms to give Israel the confidence to negotiate peace. But they parted at the Camp David presidential retreat still divided over whether Arafat is the man to deliver those changes. "Chairman Arafat, as far as I'm concerned, is not the issue," Bush said at a news conference. "The issue is whether or not the Palestinian people can have a hopeful future. I have constantly said I am disappointed in his leadership. I think he has let the Palestinian people down. Bush had invited Mubarak to the secluded retreat hoping he would play an instrumental role in leading Palestinians to the peace table, much like his predecessor, Anwar Sadat, did in forging the first peace accord between Israel and an Arab state. Islamic radicals assassinated Sadat after he signed that 1979 Egypt-Israeli treaty. The diplomatic niceties could not disguise their differences on Arafat, a timetable for a Palestinian state and even how much Mideast violence each nation was willing to tolerate. "Look, we should give this man a chance," Mubarak said. "We are working very hard with cooperation with the United States for the reform in the Palestinian Authority. Such a chance will prove that he is going to deliver or not. If he's going to deliver, I think everybody would support him. If he's not going to deliver, his people will tell him that," he said. Bush, taking pains to find common ground with Mubarak, noted that the Egyptian president did not commit to dealing with Arafat forever, but only asked for time to see if he will deliver. Mubarak said violence "will come to an end unless the people feel that there is hope for peace and there is something to show that peace is coming. If they didn't feel that, they will not stop violence. It will continue forever." A hard edge in his voice, Bush replied: "My attitude about violence is this: People have responsibilities to do everything they can to stop violence." He has urged Mubarak and other Arab leaders to curb Mideast terrorism and stop inciting violence through state-run media "Chairman Arafat must do everything in his power to stop the violence, to stop the attacks on Israel. I mean everything," Bush said, thumping a lectern set outside one of the retreat's cabins. Mubarak, speaking in Arabic, delivered a lengthy assessment of the crisis. He accused Israel of "assassinations" and "illegal confiscation's" and demanded that Israeli troops withdraw from territories occupied since 1967. Mubarak came to the talks hoping Bush would set a deadline for Palestinian statehood and ease his criticism of Arafat. Bush disappointed him on both points. "Well, we're not ready to lay down a specific calendar, except for the fact we need to get started quickly, soon, so that we can seize the moment," Bush said. "Here's the timetable I have in mind. We need to start immediately in building the institutions necessary for the emergence of a Palestinian state which, on the one hand, will give hope to the Palestinian people and, on the other hand, say to the world, including the neighborhood, that there is a chance to defeat ... terror," Bush said. A senior White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that while Bush is not prepared to offer a timetable or statehood deadline now, he has not ruled out embracing either idea down the road. <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. 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