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Rocky Start to Powell's Middle East Tour
April 11, 2002
U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell arrived in Cairo April 9, a day after launching his Israeli-Palestinian peace mission to the Middle East. Powell began his tour in Morocco, with his visit coming in the wake of an unconfirmed April 1 report that Rabat had agreed -- at the behest of Washington -- to grant asylum to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat should Israel expel him from the West Bank. Powell's visit was likely aimed at discussing the details of such a plan and reconfirming Rabat's support.
But his trip has so far not gone well. Morocco's King Mohammed VI asked Powell during a photo session why he hadn't traveled to Jerusalem first, a blatant criticism of the secretary of state's schedule and the hollow U.S. pressure on Israel. Although the Israeli military is continuing its offensive in the Palestinian territories, despite calls by the Bush administration to pull back, Powell's peace mission will first take him to Egypt and Spain before he goes to Israel.
While in Morocco, Powell also met with Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah. The decision to meet there rather than in Saudi Arabia suggests that relations between Washington and Riyadh have deteriorated further, in part due to the royal family's reluctance to cooperate with a U.S. military campaign against Iraq.
Powell is also scheduled to travel to Jordan and will reportedly arrive in Jerusalem April 11, a day earlier than scheduled. However, by the time he gets there, Israel will have had nearly three weeks to complete the military offensive it launched in the territories March 29.
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(c) 2002 Stratfor, Inc.
Dan
Rocky Start to Powell's Middle East Tour . . .