Recognizing Jerusalem as Israeli capital, no easing of sanctions against Iraq, the Intifada should stop, Syria has to pull back its troops from Lebanon and Egypt should send back its ambassador to Israel are the new administration guidelines regarding the Middle East, made clear by US Secretary of State Colin Powell Wednesday at a testimony before House of Representatives committee for international affairs.
“President Bush is committed to moving our embassy to Jerusalem," Powell said in answer to a question at a House International Relations Committee hearing Wednesday.
“The process is ongoing. We have not started any actions yet," Powell said of the proposed embassy move, noting the “very difficult situation that exists right now."
“But it does remain his commitment to move the embassy to the capital of Israel, which is Jerusalem," Powell said of Bush.
The Associated Press said in its report that the comment could run the risk of increasing already strong anti-American sentiment among Palestinians and other Arabs, because moving the embassy would lend support to Israeli claims to the city.
On Iraq, Powell said, "I think the characterization that I have sometimes seen that we are easing up or giving up, is quite incorrect. We discovered a collapsing situation. We're trying to fix that collapsing situation with respect to the sanctions," Powell said.
"The inspectors have to go back in," Powell added, referring to international inspectors charged with verifying Iraqi disarmament who have been expelled by Baghdad.
During a trip to the Gulf region in late February, Powell announced Washington's intention to restructure the sanctions regime in place against Iraq, focusing more on military purchases and less on civilian ones, said AFP.
The sanctions have been the subject of mounting criticism, with opponents charging that they hurt Iraqi civilians without harming Saddam Hussein's regime.
But the conservative wing of the Republican Party -- currently the majority party in Congress -- is reluctant to take any steps that could be interpreted as a sign of backing down against the Iraqi leader, the agency added.
Powell also said the administration of President George W. Bush was prepared to take military action against any activity or site in Iraq linked to the acquisition of weapons of mass destruction, in violation of UN resolutions in place since the Gulf War.
"We also reserve the right, under this policy, that if and when we find facilities or other activities going on in Iraq that we believe are inconsistent with their obligations, we reserve the right to take military action against such facilities, and we'll do so."
He said US and British officials in charge of monitoring the no-fly zones imposed over southern and northern Iraq were reviewing those operations "to see if we're doing them in the best possible way to achieve the objective."
In the hearing, Powell said that he had asked Syrian President Bashar Assad to do his best to contain Lebanese movement Hizbollah’s “anti-Israeli activities,” considering that a Syrian pullback from Lebanon is in the best interest of all parties in the region although he did not expect the withdrawal to take place in the foreseen future.
Syria has 35,000 troops in Lebanon, and Lebanese parties have launched a campaign calling for a Syrian pullback.
The Lebanese press reported that Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir met with 11 members of the House of Representatives on Wednesday afternoon headed by Eliot Angel, who is known for his interest in Lebanon, and who shares Sfeir’s stand against Syrian presence in Lebanon.
On the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Powell advised Palestinian President Yasser Arafat to put an end to the Palestinian uprising, echoing a demand by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon who has set that as a prerequisite to restarting peace negotiations with the Palestinians – Albawaba.com
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