King Abdullah, another name for the "International
Leaders" section of the John 0'Neill Wall of
Heroes...Abdullah's father, BTW, the late King Hussein
is on record as having considered Bill Clinton as the
American President who had done the most (and he had
worked with them all personally since Eisenhower) for
world peace in general and Middle East peace in
particular...Sadly, his son has to deal with the
incredible shrinking _resident, who has done te most
damage to world peace in general and Middle East peace
in particular...SeeNotNews, AnythingButSee, SeeBS,
NotBeSeen and Faux News will not spend any time on
this story tonight. It is too damning...But it is just
one of many...The incredible shrinking _resident is
now presiding over an incredible shrinking "coalition
of the witless." Spain and Honduras have withdrawn
from it. Thailand, Singapore and the Netherlands and
others will probably soon withdraw from it...The
almost unnanimous good will and cooperation of the
world community post-9/11 has been wholly
squandered...Even long-standing Arab allies in the
Middle East are distancing themselves from the US in
significant and unprecendented ways...The entire
planet (except for Al Qaeda which is already on record
as wanting Bush over Kerry) is praying for REGIME
CHANGE here...We are almost alone...Will the US
electorate drink the cool-aid that the Bush cabal has
concocted for it?
Ewen MacAskill, Suzanne Goldenberg, Guardian (UK): A growing rift between America and the Arab world was exposed yesterday when two Middle Eastern allies delivered damaging rebuffs to President George Bush's policies in the region. King Abdullah of Jordan flew home from the US after abruptly canceling a meeting planned for today with the president in Washington. The king's move came as the Egyptian president, Hosni Mubarak, said there was more hatred of Americans in the Arab world today than ever before.
Restore the Timeline, Show Up for Democracy in 2004:
Defeat Bush (again!)
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0421-02.htm
Published on Wednesday, April 21, 2004 by the
Guardian/UK
Arab Ally Snubs Bush Amid 'Unprecedented Hatred' for
US
by Ewen MacAskill in Jerusalem and Suzanne Goldenberg
in Washington
A growing rift between America and the Arab world was
exposed yesterday when two Middle Eastern allies
delivered damaging rebuffs to President George Bush's
policies in the region.
King Abdullah of Jordan flew home from the US after
abruptly canceling a meeting planned for today with
the president in Washington. The king's move came as
the Egyptian president, Hosni Mubarak, said there was
more hatred of Americans in the Arab world today than
ever before.
The White House scrambled on April 20, 2004 to mend
diplomatic fences with Jordan's King Abdullah, who
abruptly postponed a meeting with President Bush
because of concerns over the U.S. stance on the Middle
East. King Abdullah is seen in San Francisco April 16.
Photo by Kimberly White/Reuters
King Abdullah and Mr Mubarak are two of the most
moderate leaders in the Middle East and the two
normally closest to the US.
King Abdullah's cancellation was in retaliation for Mr
Bush's support last week for a plan by the Israeli
prime minister, Ariel Sharon, in which he offered to
pull out of Gaza in return for US recognition of
illegal settlements on the West Bank and an end of the
right of 3.6 million Palestinians to return to Israel.
Mr Mubarak cited as reasons for the increased hatred
Israel and the US occupation of Iraq. In an interview
with Le Monde published yesterday, he said : "After
what has happened in Iraq, there is an unprecedented
hatred. What's more - they [Arabs] see Sharon act as
he wants, without the Americans saying anything".
The Jordanian government said yesterday it was seeking
clarification of US intentions towards Israel and the
Palestinians before agreeing to a new meeting with Mr
Bush.
Mr Bush's administration yesterday tried to play down
the rift with one of its few allies in the Middle
East. The secretary of state, Colin Powell, said the
White House remained committed to a negotiated
settlement between Israel and the Palestinians, and
was not acting in the interests of the Jewish state.
"I think people will see over time that the US is
committed to the welfare and benefit and the hopes and
dreams and aspirations of Arab nations," he told
reporters,
Pressure on King Abdullah to make a gesture has been
building in Jordan, half of whose population is made
up of Palestinians.
There has long been a threat of an Islamist militant
backlash, a point reinforced yesterday when the
Jordanian government said it had killed three
militants in a shootout in the capital, Amman.
A Jordanian government spokeswoman, Asma Khader, said
yesterday that King Abdullah, who had been in the US
for a business conference, still wanted to meet Mr
Bush but felt more time was needed to prepare for it.
A palace statement said the meeting would not be held
"until discussions and deliberations are concluded
with officials in the American administration to
clarify the American position on the peace process and
the final situation in the Palestinian territories."
The Arab League, which represents all Arab countries,
welcomed the king's decision to cancel his meeting.
Ali Muhsin Hamid, its London ambassador, said Mr
Bush's statement had reduced US-Arab relations to a
level comparable to 1967.
The countries are trying to get a resolution through
the UN condemning the assassination of the Hamas
leader, Abdel-Aziz Rantissi. About 40 countries have
spoken in the debate so far, all of them - other than
the US - critical of Israel.
Mr Sharon secured his deal with Mr Bush partly through
brinkmanship, sitting at Ben Gurion airport for three
hours last week and threatening to cancel his
Washington visit. Mr Bush caved in.
But similar tactics by King Abdullah are unlikely to
achieve the same result. The palace statement said the
king had written to Mr Bush before his meeting with Mr
Sharon saying the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza had to
be part of an overall peace plan, not an alternative
to it. But Mr Bush ignored his plea.
© Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004
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