Kerry: Bush sending muddled Middle East message

Kerry: There is no clarity to the president's position."

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Sen. John Kerry, D-Massachusetts, accused President Bush Sunday of sending out a muddled message on the Middle East that has worsened the situation there, and he urged the administration to lay out a vision the region can support.

"They sent mixed signals to every side, if any signals at all," Kerry told NBC's Meet the Press. "In the end, I think they have contributed significantly to their own dilemma and to the dilemma of the Middle East as a result of that."

For example, he said, Bush gave Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon a "green light" to respond militarily to Palestinian suicide attacks, then told the Israelis that "enough is enough."

Bush announced he would not deal with Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat, then did just that, said Kerry, who is considered a potential Democratic presidential candidate in 2004.

In addition, Bush said he would not hold peace talks while violence was raging, but then amended that to, "Maybe we can have discussions while there's violence going on," Kerry said.

In short, Kerry said, "There is no clarity to the president's position."

"I think they have got to announce a vision, they've got to put something on the table," he said of the administration. "We have to convince the prime minister and all of Israel and, frankly, the Arab world, that there is a way to proceed that can get us back to where we were."

Kerry said he believes Sharon "has all the right in the world to defend Israel, defend his country, defend his people."

And although 34 Jewish settlements have been built on Palestinian territory since Sharon took office, the prime minister and most Israelis "understand that the settlements will ultimately be a component of the peace process," Kerry said.

The decorated Navy officer, who served in Vietnam and then became a spokesman for Vietnam Veterans Against the War, urged Bush to outline "a series of steps that could be taken on both sides that could lead to a cessation of the ongoing violence."

Asked whether there might be a role for U.S. peacekeepers in the region, Kerry said, "Only under very agreed-upon circumstances," such as during final status discussions. "Absent that, it would not be a solution."

Some Republican congressmen also commented Sunday about the Middle East crisis.

Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott expressed concern on CNN's Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer about the timing of President Bush's planned Mideast policy speech, which could come as early as Monday.

Bush must weigh whether he can give the talk this week without appearing to be rewarding terrorism, said the Mississippi Republican.

"We can't continue the way we're going," Lott added. "Something has to change the dynamics. Who can do it? Not the Arabs. Arafat is incapable of doing it. The Israelis are under siege. Only the United States can try to change the dynamics."

Lott continued, "The president can and will, I believe and hope, will make a difference. But I hope that some time and obviously a lot of deliberation goes into the final decision of what to say and how to say it."

On ABC's This Week With Sam Donaldson and Cokie Roberts, Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Alabama, spoke out on whether Bush should call for an interim Palestinian state in his talk.

"That's a dicey proposition right now. I don't know how you can create a Palestinian state at the moment with all of the violence that's going on, all of the terrorist attacks," said Shelby.

"I personally believe that Arafat is spent force. So if he's going to head up the so-called Palestinian state, I don't think it's going to go very far," he added.