Bush names Iran-Contra figure his Mideast chief
Abrams' rise thrills Israel's supporters
Steven R. Weisman, New York Times
Saturday, December 7, 2002
Washington -- Elliott Abrams, a pugnacious conservative and passionate advocate of Israel, is no stranger to Washington's policy wars.
But Abrams' selection this week as President Bush's director of Middle Eastern affairs at the White House plunged him into one of the sharpest disputes in the nation's capital -- the one within the administration over how to deal with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Abrams' appointment thrilled those who had criticized the administration for being too tough on Israel and too deferential to the Palestinians. But it dismayed those, especially at the State Department, who want Israel to ease its crackdown in the West Bank and Gaza.
An administration official said that Abrams' ascension has created "serious consternation" at the State Department. It is seen there, he said, as likely to impede the efforts of Secretary of State Colin Powell to work with European nations to press Israel and the Palestinians to adopt a staged timetable leading to creation of a Palestinian state in three years.
The timetable, known as a road map, has been criticized by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, though he endorsed it in principle this week. Supporters of Israel in Congress, who have also criticized the road map approach, welcomed the appointment of Abrams'.
"There are two foreign policy teams in this administration on a lot of issues," said Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., who went to Harvard with Abrams in the 1960s. "Clearly Elliott is coming out of the hard-line team. But that is where Bush's heart is."
Abrams comes to his new job trailed by a cloud of controversy, most of it having to do with his pleading guilty in 1987 to the charge that he withheld information from Congress on the Reagan administration's efforts to assist anti-government guerrillas in Nicaragua.
He was pardoned by President Bush's father in December 1992. At the time, plenty of people around Washington said that Abrams would never be back as a policymaker. A prominent Republican senator said he would trust Abrams as far as he could throw him.
Now, not only is Abrams back -- though not in a position that would require Senate confirmation -- but a raft of figures involved in the battles over the Nicaragua guerrillas, known as the Contras, are back too.
John Poindexter, a national security adviser to President Reagan who was convicted in 1990 of five felony counts (the convictions were later overturned) -- is directing a project at the Pentagon that would assemble information on suspected terrorists.
In addition, John Negroponte, who was ambassador to Honduras during the time that the Contras were being given aid through that country in defiance of a law barring such aid, is ambassador to the United Nations. And Otto Reich, who was charged with running a covert domestic propaganda campaign against the Nicaragua government, is a special envoy for Western Hemisphere affairs at the State Department.
Administration officials said Abrams was picked for the Middle East and North Africa portfolio under Condoleezza Rice, the national security adviser, because a strong manager was needed and the previous director, Zalmay Khalilzad, had been preoccupied with the reconstruction of Afghanistan.
"Everybody has enormous confidence in him," said a senior White House official. "He is not just a good manager. He is an intellectual force in many policy areas. Whatever controversy there was in the past is in the past."
Many of those critical of Abrams speak with admiration for his intellect and management skills, which will be tested not only in the Israel-Palestinian conflict but also if there is a war, followed by a lengthy occupation and reconstruction of Iraq.
Five years ago, Abrams wrote a book, "Faith or Fear: How Jews Can Survive in Christian America," which argues against the loss of religious faith among Jews and criticizes intermarriage as a danger to their survival in America. He also urged Jews to make greater common cause with evangelical Christians in rallying support for Israel.
Abrams was a fierce opponent of the Oslo peace negotiations between Israel and Yasser Arafat, the Palestinian leader, even while they seemed to bear fruit. He wrote in the 1990s that it was a mistake for President Bill Clinton to trust Arafat.
With the Middle East consumed by the spiral of suicide bombings and Israeli retaliations, Abrams is certain to be among those advocating that Israel be given wide latitude to battle terrorism.
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