|
|
December 22, 2000/Kislev 25, 5761, Vol. 53, No.13
Powell merely hints on Mideast strategy
MATTHEW E. BERGER
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
WASHINGTON - In accepting the nomination as President-elect George W. Bush's secretary of state last weekend, Gen. Colin Powell set out the foundation of the administration's strategy in the Middle East.
"America will remain very much engaged in the Middle East" under a Bush administration, he said.
Saying he expected the issue to be "a major priority" for him and the State Department, he also hinted at the role the new administration plans to take as it balances often competing interests in the region.
The policy "will be based on the principle that we must always ensure that Israel lives in freedom and in security and peace," Powell said.
"But at the same time, we have to do everything we can to deal with the aspirations of the Palestinians and other nations in the regions who have an interest in this."
This balancing act - one the Clinton administration, too, has had to navigate - comes as a new administration prepares to inherit a region where promise of peace has elapsed into violence and political turmoil.
Whatever the outcome of the latest push to revive Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, Bush and Powell will take center stage Jan. 20, just as Israel is about to culminate a heated election for prime minister.
Powell's words are being watched closely by Jewish observers concerned about the future of the peace process, the role of the United States in the Middle East and the world, and the relationship between a new administration and the Jewish community.
Powell's name is familiar to the Jewish community, first for his role as national security adviser in the Reagan administration and then as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the Persian Gulf War in 1991.
But it has been 10 years since his pivotal role during the U.S.-led conflict with Iraq, which saw weeks of SCUD missiles raining down on major Israeli population centers.
Despite his initial hesitation to commit American troops to the Middle East, Powell emerged from the Persian Gulf conflict as a modern-day war hero able to match military strategy with public relations skills.
But since the Gulf War, Powell has faded from the foreign policy spotlight, choosing instead to speak out on education and volunteerism instead of missile defense systems.
There is little known of Powell's current views on Israel.
His autobiography hardly broached the subject and many of his past speeches and notes from meetings with Jewish organizations are still hidden away in the storage areas of the organizations' headquarters and their leaders' minds.
While most Jewish officials and analysts are optimistic about his role in the peace process and as a friend of Israel, some note his hesitancy to fight against Iraq - and in the process support Israel - as a sign of future reluctance to use American strength to thwart international conflict.
|
