Kelly Wallace: Bush may broaden Mideast peace efforts

Kelly Wallace

CNN White House Correspondent Kelly Wallace has been monitoring the Bush administration and its Mideast policy in the days before Israel's election for prime minister.

Q: Is there a sense at the White House that the Bush administration might better deal with another conservative administration in Israel, such as Likud? Or do those kinds of political affiliations mean anything in U.S. international relations?

WALLACE: It's really hard to tell from the very beginning of the administration just exactly what the new president's team will do regarding Israel and the Middle East peace process. So I think from the start it's just a little too early to tell. I don't think that those kinds of internal, political issues will play a role. What will be a factor for this new administration is exactly how the Israelis respond to whoever wins the election on Tuesday, and then how the Israelis and the Palestinians decide to proceed when it comes to the Middle East peace process.

We heard Secretary of State Colin Powell speak Sunday, making it clear that the Bush administration would be watching to see what happens and see how both parties respond before deciding what the next steps would be. The Bush White House has been -- keeping with traditional U.S. policy -- not commenting on another country's internal election, not siding with either Prime Minister Ehud Barak or Likud Party leader Ariel Sharon. But there was a message that came from Secretary Powell and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice that whomever wins on Tuesday, the Bush White House hopes that the Israelis and the new leader of the Israelis, as well as the Palestinians, will move forward in an atmosphere of calm. The message being that violence is not an answer.

Q: Has Bush had any contact with Sharon or Barak recently? And if so, what did they discuss?

WALLACE: To my understanding he has not had any contact, since taking office, with Ariel Sharon. He did telephone Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak a week ago. This was billed by the White House as one of his introductory calls to world leaders. They spoke for a very short time, just seven minutes. Mr. Bush expressed to the Israeli leader that he hopes to have a strong relationship between the U.S. and Israel and that he also expressed hopes that any Mideast peace deal be based on a secure Israel. But that was the extent of the conversation, according to White House officials.

So far, Mr. Bush has not called Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. Secretary Powell spoke with Arafat and conveyed that the U.S. will remain engaged in Mideast peacemaking.

Q: Generally, what is the Bush administration's Mideast policy?

WALLACE: Again, it is too early to know exactly what this administration's policy will be when it comes to the Middle East or what its role will be in the future. One thing that does appear clear: Powell told reporters Thursday that he doesn't believe that you can focus on just one thing. There are so many things going on, Powell indicated, that he and his team would be focusing on the Israeli-Palestinian situation as well as other areas such as Iraq and Europe.

That contrasts with the Clinton administration somewhat in that Clinton focused on playing a very activist role in bringing about a final Mideast peace deal. The Bush administration is expected to broaden the peace process. And that means trying to get Arab nations in the region more involved. We saw that some of the first calls President Bush made to world leaders were to Middle East leaders. He called Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt.

Q: Are any of your administration sources privately expressing concern about the possibility that former President Clinton might continue to contact the players in the Mideast peace process?

WALLACE: The general sense on the part of the Bush administration is that the former president is free to do whatever he wants on the international stage, but that only President Bush and his team reflect U.S. foreign policy.

During the transition, then President-elect Bush was asked if he would name Clinton as a special envoy to the region. He said he would not rule anything out but privately Bush administraion officials have indicated that that would be very unlikely.

Barak tries to coax Israeli Arabs to polls as vote nears
February 4, 2001

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Palestinian National Authority
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