Israeli pressure on Bush may strain ties

Washington: Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert boasted on Monday that he successfully pressured President George W. Bush last week to reverse course on US diplomacy over fighting in Gaza in an episode that could sharpen tensions between the close allies at a sensitive moment.

Speaking to an audience in Ashkelon, Israel, Olmert said he had called Bush on Thursday and convinced him that the United States should not vote for a pending UN Security Council resolution urging a cease-fire in Gaza.

Olmert said Bush's agreement "embarrassed" US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice because the resolution was one that she had "cooked up, she organised, she formulated, she manoeuvred", according to comments reported by Israel Radio.

"And she was left pretty embarrassed, abstaining on a draft resolution she organised herself," Olmert added.

Within Israel, Olmert and his government have been under heavy criticism for not being able to blunt passage of the ceasefire resolution, and some analysts in the US and Israel saw the comments as an attempt to deflect blame.

Sean McCormack, Rice's chief spokesman, said she had decided not to vote for the resolution a day earlier. But some analysts said Olmert's remarks would be received with displeasure in Washington, because among other things, he suggested that Israel has been directing US policy on the Middle East.

"This is terrible for the United States," said Daniel Levy, a former Israeli peace negotiator. "This confirms every assumption they have in the Arab world about the tail wagging the dog. ... It's a story you're likely to hear quoted there for years to come."

Levy also accused Olmert of "unparalleled arrogance". Olmert, who is about to leave office, might have thought mistakenly that his words would not be widely noticed. "There are some things you don't say, even in Ashkelon, even in Hebrew," said Levy, who is now with the Century Foundation in Washington.

Tracking Bush

Olmert told the crowd that when he heard a Security Council vote was to come in 10 minutes, he tracked down Bush, who he was told was speaking in Philadelphia. Bush left the podium, according to Olmert's account, to take his call.

Olmert said Bush told him he wasn't familiar with the text. But Olmert said he told the president: "'I'm familiar. You can't vote for it." He [Bush] gave an order to the secretary of state, and she didn't vote for it." The resolution was approved by 14 of the Security Council's 15 members in an evening vote. Rice abstained.

US officials have not disputed Olmert's account. But in one possible inconsistency, Bush returned to the White House from Philadelphia hours before the UN vote, according to the president;s schedule.

Peace blueprint

Critics in Israel have charged that the resolution, while non-binding, reflected a failure of Israeli diplomacy. Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni didn't attend the debate, while a number of Arab foreign ministers were deeply involved in the three days of discussions over it.

A senior US official said the administration preferred a peace blueprint being assembled by Egypt, but didn't want to veto the UN resolution by voting against it.

There had been speculation that Rice was ordered to change course, and Olmert's version of events "seemed to make sense", said Nathan Brown, head of Middle East studies at George Washington University. Rice had been pushing hard for the resolution draft, then abruptly shifted ground. Several European diplomats said afterward they were shocked by the move.

"It seemed like a strange step," Brown said.

This shows that the US is not serious about peace in the Middle East and it can't do anything. When the world's super power, the USA can surrender to Israel then we can imagine how weak that power is.
Mehdi Ali
Muscat,Oman
Posted: January 14, 2009, 13:05

God is watching what is being done to those innocent lives. No deed goes unpunished.
Arif
karanataka,India
Posted: January 14, 2009, 12:41

There is nothing new in this!Everybody, except the Americans, know Israel is thr policy maker in the Middle East.
Ehsan Murad
Manama,Bahrain
Posted: January 14, 2009, 12:15