- Georgia -- President Bush yesterday was bluntly told
by European and Arab allies alike that a serious new push for a Palestinian-Israeli
peace solution was vital if his vision of a stable Iraq at the heart of
a reformed Middle East were to have any chance of success.
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- Boosted by the unanimous United Nations vote on sovereignty,
Mr Bush used the first day of the G8 summit here to try and advance his
agenda for Iraq, seeking to widen the role of Nato, gain relief for Baghdad's
debt, and launch a much-touted initiative to promote democracy in the Middle
East and the Islamic world.
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- But the Palestinian-Israeli conflict quickly leapt to
the centre of proceedings, as Tony Blair attempted to secure a US commitment
to revitalise the virtually moribund "road map" towards a comprehensive
settlement. President Jacques Chirac of France - the fiercest critic of
the 2003 invasion of Iraq - warned that "real progress" toward
a peace deal was a "precondition" of any successful attempt at
reform of the region.
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- But despite some nods of assent, there was little sign
that Washington has agreed to a major rethink of its Middle Eastern policies,
and its embrace of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's controversial
plan to withdraw from Gaza.
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- This latest annual gathering of the G8 powers, at the
exclusive and massively guarded Sea Island resort, takes place in a much
improved atmosphere from its predecessor a year ago, in the angry aftermath
of the invasion of Iraq, which had split the Security Council and caused
the worst rift in trans-atlantic relations in decades.
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- The recommended attire was 'business casual,' as a sports-shirted
Mr Bush drove Mr Blair to their breakfast meeting in a new model fuel-efficient
golf buggy, painted with the stars and stripes. Most leaders chose to go
without ties. M. Chirac alone wore a formal suit and tie.
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- And the political content for the leaders - from France,
the US, Britain, Russia, Italy, Japan, Canada and Germany - is also much
more relaxed this time. The priority is mending fences, rather than rubbing
salt into old Iraq wounds, and Monday's unanimous UN vote has given the
occasion an ideal send-off.
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- However each of the main US aims is likely to run into
difficulties. Cancellation of the $120bn of foreign debt run up by Saddam
Hussein has been resolutely opposed by France, which argues that Iraq should
not be treated differently from other, and even poorer, countries in the
developing world. Moreover M. Chirac declared yesterday that this was not
the time for Nato to become more involved in Iraq.
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- But the biggest disappointment may prove to be the so
called "Broader Middle East" initiative, even as the G8 opens
its doors for the first time to a group of Middle Eastern and Islamic leaders,
including the new Iraqi President, Ghazi al-Yawer.
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- >From highly ambitious origins, the scheme - intended
to throw the collective weight of the G8 behind a bid to foster economic
reform and democracy in the region - has been steadily diluted since it
was first floated earlier this year, amid a chorus of objections and criticism,
from Europe as well as from sections of the Arab world.
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- Once modelled on the 1975 Helsinki accords which imposed
human rights obligations on Communist Europe, the latest version is non-binding
in any way, and is focussed on economic and educational issues.
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- King Abdullah of Jordan, President Karzai of Afghanistan
and the Turkish Prime Minister were among those in attendance. But Saudi
Arabia and Egypt - two countries crucial for the initiative - refused to
come, as did Morocco.
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- The scheme is no more than unwanted Western meddling,
they complain, and a high handed attempt to impose foreign ways on the
Middle East.
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- Mr Blair however denied the charges. "What we're
doing today is to say, 'Look, sensible people sitting down and looking
at the situation in the Middle East know there needs to be a process of
reform and change,'" the Prime Minister said after a private breakfast
with Mr Bush. "Now, that's not for us to dictate to people, but it
is for us to help them get there."
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- But after the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal, Washington's
moral credibility in the region has rarely been lower. US officials increasingly
acknowledge that without progress on the Palestinian-Israeli issue, in
a way that suggests the US is not irrevocably tilted towards the Israeli
cause, prospects for any wider democratic initiative in the region are
dim.
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- Before he left for the summit, the Jordanian monarch
- one of the staunchest US allies in the region - said "no programme
on the broader democratic initiative is possible, until a resolution of
the [Palestinian-Isaeli] conflict has been achieved".
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- But Washington, outwardly at least, is hardly changing
its ground. Once again US officials stressed that the Sharon plan to pull
out of Gaza and parts of the West Bank was a "hugely significant"
step, whose importance was missed by many countries, among them Britain.
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- In yesterday's opening session Mr Bush gave an upbeat
review of the strong US economy, now growing at an annual 4 per cent or
more, despite the sharp rise in oil prices.
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- Many countries regard the soaring US budget and trade
deficits as another threat to world prosperity. But Mr Bush defended his
massive tax cuts, a prime cause of the budget deficit, as essential to
start the present recovery.
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- The US believes it is up to Europe and Japan to boost
their own economies, to reduce domestic unemployment and take the weight
off the US.
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- Today's session, to which several African leaders have
been invited, will deal with debt relief, the fight against poverty and
AIDS, and helping international peacekeeping operations in global trouble
spots.
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- © 2004 Independent Digital (UK) Ltd http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/story.jsp?story=529922
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