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Summit May Signal U.K.-U.S. Split Over Israel
April 10, 2002
Summary
Official statements following the recent meeting between U.S. President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair focused primarily on the need for military action in Iraq, but a joint statement on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was conspicuously absent. This could betray a deeper disagreement between the two countries over how to deal with Israel, further sidetracking Washington from its pursuit of al Qaeda.
Tony Blair is prepared to take military action.
Image Credit: The Associated Press.
Analysis
The recent meeting between U.S. President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair in Crawford, Texas, initially was supposed to focus on ways to help resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Instead, post-meeting statements by both heads of state focused primarily on Iraq.
The two leaders needed to end the summit in agreement -- given that Washington needs a foreign policy boost from its closest European ally and Britain always benefits from publicly reinforcing its relationship with the United States -- and they did. In order to do so, however, they fell back an old, reliable enemy: Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. The post-summit emphasis on Iraq and the failure to endorse a common approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict may mask a more fundamental disagreement over Israel.
A rift with London over Israel would create problems for Washington on two levels. First, the Bush administration has been trying to avoid getting bogged down in Israel because this would detract from its primary foreign policy objective of rooting out al Qaeda. Second, lacking widespread international support for its agenda, Washington can hardly afford a disagreement over Israel with its primary international ally, especially since it relies on London's unconditional support to promote its foreign policy agenda within Europe.
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(Story Source)
(c) 2002 Stratfor, Inc.
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Dan
Summit May Signal U.K.-U.S. Split Over Israel . . .