Commentary

Bush Hangs Powell Out to Dry

Last week, while U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell was shuttling around Europe trying to organize a Middle East peace conference during the summer, his boss President George W. Bush was meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in the White House. Following the meeting, Bush announced that Palestinian President Yasser Arafat was untrustworthy and that a peace conference in the near future was, therefore, impossible. Meanwhile, Powell was continuing with the charade of organizing a conference, claiming that Bush realized its necessity and fully supported it.

It has been clear for some time that the Bush administration is sharply divided on what policy it should pursue in the Middle East. It talks peace and calls for "restraint", but supports Israel's ongoing military offensive against the Palestinians. It wants to expand its "war on terrorism" to include Iraq and needs the support of the Arab countries to do so, but keeps capitulating to Ariel Sharon, who is adamantly opposed to any peace talks until the Palestinians have been crushed and their territories completely occupied by Israeli settlers. Bush's public humiliation of Powell indicates that the pro-Sharon forces within his administration have won the day and raises serious questions about how much longer Powell can remain in his position.

There are also reports that the plans of the Bush administration to invade Iraq and replace Saddam Hussein are being vigorously opposed by top Pentagon officials, who are convinced that U.S. forces would suffer intolerable losses in such a campaign. However, the hawks in the Bush administration appear to be drunk with power and unwilling to tolerate any opposition to their imperial schemes.

The entire U.S. Middle East policy now appears to be discredited in Europe, as well as among America's allies in the Middle East, and contradictions continue to sharpen throughout the region.