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Divide Over Mideast Policy Between State Department and Defense
WASHINGTON,
April 26 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - A struggle over Middle
East policy, described by one official as a "battle royal",
at the highest levels of U.S. President George W. Bush's
administration has created divisions among the U.S. diplomatic corps,
State Department officials said Friday.
Though
internecine policy battles between the department and other government
agencies - particularly the traditionally hawkish Pentagon and the
White House - are par for the course in Washington, the current Middle
East crisis has exacerbated the problem, the officials said.
The
Washington Post, in a front-page story Friday, reported that State
Department officials say other senior policymakers have repeatedly
undercut Secretary of State Colin L. Powell in his effort to break the
Middle East deadlock.
"There
is a feeling that we are directionless, and that has created a lot of
resentment and some anger," said one official, referring to a
"generally gloomy mood" that has settled over Foggy Bottom
(neighborhood where the U.S. State Department is located) since Powell
returned from his inconclusive Middle East peace mission last week.
The
policy battle, which had been simmering even before Powell's trip,
exploded into the public on Friday with a front-page Post story in
which unnamed diplomats spoke of severe demoralization and
despondency.
The
chief reason, according to the Post, is a growing fight for control of
Middle East policy between Powell and Secretary of Defense Donald
Rumsfeld that the diplomats cited as the reason for the failure of
Powell's mission.
"There
is a fear, and it has been growing since the trip, that sometimes
different parts of the administration are working at
cross-purposes," a senior official told Agence France-Presse
(AFP).
Another
official downplayed the idea of a personal struggle between Powell and
Rumsfeld but acknowledged there were serious concerns at the State
Department about how the crisis is being handled.
However,
another State official, referring to those within Bush’s
administration backing Powell, said, "I can't think of an awful
lot of allies," and commented that the demoralization within the
department was the most severe in at least five years.
The
Post story is the latest in a series of reports to say Bush refused to
stand behind Powell when he was demanding that Israeli Prime Minister
Ariel Sharon withdraw his troops from the West Bank, and hold talks
with Palestinians.
In
the current issue of Newsweek magazine, Fareed Zakaria, the former
managing editor of the journal Foreign Affairs, writes that Bush
should either support Powell or get rid of him.
Powell
favors pressuring Sharon to withdraw his forces, while Rumsfeld and
his advisers advocate giving the Israelis wide latitude and see the
military operation as a legitimate “war on terrorism,” according
to the reports.
Rumsfeld
and his key people, notably Deputy Defense Secretary Paul D. Wolfowitz
and Undersecretary of Defense Douglas J. Feith, also see little value
in trying to engage Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in negotiations,
according to the reports.
U.S.
Vice President Richard Cheney, although expressing concerns about how
Middle East policy is affecting administration priorities, and his
staff largely share the Pentagon's perspective.
Sharon
did not respond to Powell in what many saw as defiance fueled by
wavering in Washington, where the White House has come under intense
pressure from the pro-Israel camp to back away from criticizing the
Jewish state.
Surprisingly,
however, the State Department has found an ally in the Central
Intelligence Agency (CIA), providing the Department with the only
strong support for a more vigorous policy seeking to address both
Israeli and Palestinian concerns, which has developed a working
relationship with the two sides in fostering security cooperation,
reports the Post.
Some
well-known U.S. conservatives have hinted that Bush should consider
sacking Powell or at least giving him a stern lecture about why Arafat
should be considered a "terrorist" and Sharon a "man of
peace."
Appearing
on all Sunday morning talk shows last weekend, Powell said labeling
Arafat a terrorist would be "irrelevant" and pointedly would
not repeat the "man of peace" description of Sharon that has
been used by the White House.
The
Post reports that Powell has displayed little public frustration. But
his employees' complaints reveal the depth of divisions inside the
administration.
"The
State Department has a strategy and Powell does. But he's not
supported by the administration and by the president because of the
political risk," a former U.S. official said to the paper.
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