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Rice Reinforces Support for Road Map
(Financial Times-UK) - Harvey Morris To the consternation of Israeli officials and the surprise of all but the most skeptical Palestinians, the signals from Washington appear to confirm that President Bush really is determined to push through his "road map" to peace. The arrival in the region at the weekend of Condoleezza Rice, the president's national security adviser, will reinforce the message he gave at the Aqaba summit this month that he regards the peace process as the "highest priority." Countering the spin from Israeli officials that Israel's secret weapon is the personal relationship between Mr. Bush and Mr. Sharon, U.S. officials suggest that the two men are not that close. Moreover, they stress that the president is genuinely impressed by Mr. Abbas and Mohammed Dahlan, his security chief. Underscoring the new U.S. hands-on approach to the road map's progress, people familiar with the discussions say Mr. Powell spent an hour-and-a-half last Sunday on Gaza maps to determine where Israeli forces may or may not remain once an Israeli withdrawal goes ahead.