Gulf War-style anti-terror coalition to
include Israel By Gil Hoffman
JERUSALEM (September 14) - The difference between the international
anti-terror coalition that US President George W. Bush is building and the
alliance his father, former president George Bush, formed during the Gulf
War is that this time, Israel will be a full partner, a senior Western
diplomat told The Jerusalem Post yesterday.
President Bush said
the cooperation of an international coalition would allow him to "rout out
and whip" the terrorists. He warned that regimes that harbor terrorists
would be held accountable for their actions.
The president
received the backing of NATO countries when the alliance yesterday invoked
its mutual defense principle for the first time in history. The UN
Security Council's unprecedented condemnation of terror will also give
Bush's coalition a free hand.
The diplomat said that Bush would
face the same organizational issues in forming the coalition that his
father was up against in 1990. It took the former president two months to
assemble his coalition against Iraq, which left out Israel in order to
avoid offending Arab sensibilities.
The source said the emerging
picture is that Israel's inclusion in a coalition against terror may allow
it to participate in attacks against Iraq, as well as Iran and
Afghanistan, but Israel will be subject to limitations.
Less
certain to join the coalition is Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of the man
Bush holds responsible for the attacks on New York and Washington, DC,
arch-terrorist Osama bin-Laden. The US is unlikely to go out of its way to
include the Saudis, who the US believes have not decided whether they
support or oppose terror.
The same goes for Palestinian Authority
Chairman Yasser Arafat. Foreign Minister Shimon Peres warned Arafat
Wednesday that he would face the wrath of the world if he does not
renounce terrorism.
Arafat yesterday called for Arab states to
declare their readiness to join the international anti-terror coalition.
He made his proposal during a telephone conversation with Arab League
Secretary-General Amr Moussa.
"The president has discussed with
Mr. Moussa ways to work in order to build up a united Arab position that
confirms that all Arab countries are ready to take part in an
international coalition against terrorism," Palestinian lawmaker Hanan
Ashrawi told Reuters. She did not elaborate.
The Americans see
Arafat's scheduled meeting with Peres on Sunday as an opportunity to judge
whether he is ready to stop terror. The United States hopes that the
meeting will provide a forum for Arafat to initiate an end to the
violence.
The US was also concerned about the timing of Israel's
invasion of Jericho Wednesday night. The diplomat echoed Palestinian fears
in saying that Israel cannot act as if it has a blank check to target the
Palestinians while the world is focused on New York.
As for the
US, actions that have been ruled out for decades - such as political
assassinations - may be up for review, Western officials said.
While Bush has promised a "monumental struggle" against terror, he
was not only referring to a military response. One diplomat suggested that
restraint, economic sanctions, and technological means can also be used to
fight terror.
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