King leaves trail of appreciation in US

By Francesca Sawalha

The first Arab leader to hold talks with US President George W. Bush at the White House since the Sept. 11 attacks, King Abdullah urged the American administration to push for a resolution of the bloody Palestinian-Israeli crisis now more than ever, as the upsurge of international terror has added urgency to the need to mend regional crises.

“There appears to have been a change in the US' approach towards the Palestinian-Israeli crisis,” a member of the official delegation accompanying the King to the US said on Saturday.

“They [the US] will not allow [Israeli Premier Ariel] Sharon to exceed his limits” in trying to reoccupy Palestinian lands and prolonging military operations.

On the other hand, due to its prompt support of the US' campaign against terror, Palestinian President Yasser Arafat is now viewed under a more positive light by US politicians, the official continued.

The Palestinian president is also being seen in Washington as more serious than Sharon about resuming peace talks, he told The Jordan Times.

“Arafat has to consolidate the conviction that he means business and he is not just engaging in temporary [peace] solutions,” the official added.

King Abdullah's two-day visit to the US came on the heels of indications that Washington was putting pressure on hardliner Sharon to bring the peace process back on track.

Meeting in the Oval Office on Friday, the King told Bush that most Muslims would form a “united front” against terrorism but also warned that any US military response should be measured and should exclude attacking Iraq.

“What these people [terrorist groups] stand for is completely against all the principles that Arab Muslims believe in,” the King was quoted by the Associated Press as saying at the White House.

“And so, on these principles alone, I think it will be very, very easy for people to stand together.”

Welcoming the King's political backing, Bush was quoted as assuring him that “our war is against evil, not against Islam.”

Members of the delegation accompanying the King unanimously declared that the mission was a success on all fronts.

“The visit went very well,” a senior official said on Saturday.

“Timing, implications, and the topics of discussions were all as important,” he continued.

His Majesty was the first Arab leader to visit and meet with Bush [since Sept. 11], while other leaders sent token representation.

His trip was highly appreciated: It came at the right moment in as far as the American administration, Congress and public at large are concerned.

“The King stressed in his talks the importance of combating terrorism and not attacking Iraq: His position was strongly admired and taken very seriously.”

Senior US lawmakers, including Senate majority leader Tom Daschle and Republican leader Trent Lott, “were all competing in praising his stances,” the official added.

“It was something unprecedented.”

In addition to meeting with Bush for one hour and 15 minutes on Friday, the King also held talks with Secretary of State Colin Powell for more than one hour on Thursday.

The King's Washington agenda also included talks with National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice and Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

To drive home the message that Islam is a religion of peace, tolerance, and coexistence, and to support the struggle of American Muslims against a wave of ethnic and religious prejudice in the US, the King performed his Friday prayers at the mosque of the Islamic Centre in Washington.

The Monarch also received leaders of American Muslim and Arab communities at his residence on Thursday.

“Leaders of Arab and Muslim communities were very appreciative of the King's visit and statements,” one Royal Court official said.

“They praised him for being the only Arab leader who spelled out the Arab position in a clear and articulate manner, for defending the image of civilised and peaceful Islam, and for telling the whole world that Islam and terrorism are opposites.

“Jordanians [in the US] who were shy over the past two weeks to state their nationality are now proud to say `I am a Jordanian',” the official added.

According to officials in the King's delegation, Bush only sought political support from Jordan.

One delegation member said the US appeared to need intelligence on Osama Ben Laden, the prime suspect in the Sept. 11 attacks, and his terrorist network.

“But we have already been cooperating on this, both with the Americans and the Europeans,” the official noted.

According to the first official, the King urged Bush “not to open the old books” as part of the military response that he promised US citizens after the New York and Washington attacks.

The US administration appeared “more prudent in choosing their targets” for the planned retaliatory campaign, another official commented.

“Their delay [in launching a military campaign] is perhaps part of their trying to be rational at this critical time.

“But there is a resolve and they will do it. It will be a qualitative response,” the official added.

Officials denied that further US economic and military assistance was a topic of discussion during the King's talks.

The only item of bilateral economic cooperation discussed was the Free Trade Agreement, that Bush signed a few hours before receiving the King at the White House following last week's Senate approval.

Providing for gradually phasing off customs on bilateral exchanges of industrial and agricultural products, the Jordan-US FTA was initialed one year ago, under former US President Bill Clinton.

Caught between Republican-Democrat infighting for one year, the treaty was passed by a voice vote on Tuesday, as Washington campaigned to rally moderate Muslim and Arab states in its anti-terror coalition.

As the King's visit was dedicated to talks on regional and international developments in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, officials said there were no talks of further US aid to the Kingdom.

But diplomats have said they expected the US to help Jordan upgrade its military and intelligence capabilities and support debt alleviation efforts in appreciation of its positive stand and record against terror.