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The fault line that runs through the Bush administration over U.S. policy in the Middle East is not only deep. It is wide.
Here’s the scorecard: On one side is Secretary of State Colin Powell. On the other side is Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Vice President Dick Cheney usually sides with Rumsfeld but has agreed with the latest U.S. charm offensive in the Arab world.
The issue is simple: Should the United States go it alone against Iraq? Powell has warned that Arab and Islamic support is vital. Without Islamic support, Turkey will not grant the facilities needed to launch U.S. air attacks on Iraq. Without Arab support, Saudi Arabia and even Kuwait will fear Arab backlash from U.S. warplanes and tanks crossing from their border into Iraq.
U.S. officials said Rumsfeld and Cheney believe Bush should quietly but firmly tell U.S. allies in the Arab world: Make up your mind, are you with us or against us? They believe Egypt and Jordan will not walk away from billions of dollars in U.S. military aid. The Gulf Arab countries, their regimes frayed from domestic unrest, can’t face a scheming Iran or Iraq without help.
But Bush has decided for now to go with Powell. In short, Powell has been given the green light to meet whom he wants when he wants in the Middle East. So, the secretary of state is meeting with leaders of terrorist states such as Syrian President Bashar Assad, Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat and Lebanese President Emile Lahoud.
Rumsfeld is seething over these meetings. He believes that granting legitimacy to Lebanon means giving legitimacy to Hezbollah. In the end, the secretary believes, the war against terrorism could lose its moral basis.
The result: The fault line in the Bush administration could very well delay a U.S. attack on Iraq until next year. Or it could mean a half-hearted effort that will throw a few bombs Saddam’s way without destroying his regime.
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