The spin doctors are hard at work. Not a word about Israeli terror against the Palestinians or Sharon thumbing his nose at Bush when he demmands withdrawal. Blame it all on Arafat and leave Powell as the fall and failed guy.
CHeers, Ken Hanly Bush fears a backlash at home By David Wastell in Washington April 15 2002 President George Bush's advisers have distanced the White House from Colin Powell's difficult assignment in the Middle East as senior Republicans call for the Secretary of State to abandon his attempt to broker a ceasefire. White House officials repeatedly stressed that while Mr Bush had approved the mission, he had granted "maximum flexibility" to Mr Powell to use his own judgement on how to proceed once he was in the region. Some Republicans are urging that Mr Powell be recalled, it has emerged. Administration officials conceded that a suicide bombing in Jerusalem on Friday and Yasser Arafat's delay in responding to it had made Mr Powell's mission vastly more difficult, but insisted Mr Bush would not be deterred by "daily setbacks" in foreign policy. However, fears were growing that the attempt to mediate in the bloody conflict was serving only to undermine Mr Bush's authority in the region. Mr Powell, seen as a moderating influence in the Administration, has often served as a lightning rod for conservative dissatisfaction. Republican legislators have been asked to use "restraint" in any criticism of the Administration's approach while Mr Powell is in the Middle East. However, many are deeply disappointed that Mr Bush still seems willing in principle to allow contact with Mr Arafat. "This is rewarding terrorism," one congressional official said. Mr Bush changed tack on the Middle East 11 days ago, calling on both sides to disengage and announcing a peace mission by Mr Powell in a move that appeared to be a victory for the State Department. Earlier this year the Vice-President, Dick Cheney, and the Defence Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, had teamed up to persuade Mr Bush to abandon efforts to deal with Mr Arafat, whom the President has long regarded as untrustworthy. Mr Bush is sympathetic to those in his own party and on Capitol Hill who have lobbied against talks with Mr Arafat, not least the Christian evangelicals on the Republicans' conservative wing, whose emotional attachment to Israel he shares. He is also sensitive to another pressing concern: in elections this year the Jewish vote could make the difference in close-fought contests for control of both houses of Congress. Although American Jews make up just 2.2per cent of the population, they are disproportionately represented in big states, including New York, California and Illinois. Mr Bush is haunted in this, as in so much else, by family history: in 1991 his father, president George Bush, delayed a $US10billion loan guarantee to Israel to protest at settlement on the West Bank. In the outcry that followed, the then president described himself as "one lonely little guy" who was "up against some powerful forces". In the aftermath, his support among Jewish voters collapsed - from 35per cent in 1988 to less than 12per cent in the 1992 election, which he lost to Bill Clinton. "You can be quite sure that the President has been reminded of this," one Washington official said, referring to Mr Bush's political staff. "It may not be pretty, but this is where international politics meet domestic politics." The Telegraph, London This story was found at: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/04/14/1018333454908.html
