Blair says Iraq war, Middle East conflict connected
By Haaretz Service and The Associated Press
British Prime Minister Tony Blair said Thursday during a joint press conference with United States President George W. Bush that the efforts to stabilize Iraq depend on progress in the Middle East peace process.
The British prime minister also said that failure to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would ensure continued international terrorism.
Responding to the bipartisan Iraq Study Group's report, released Wednesday, Bush asserted that success in Iraq depends on victory over extremists across the "broader Middle East."
The report said the stabilization of Iraq depends among other things on addressing the Israeli-Arab conflict.
The two leaders announced that Blair would visit the region soon.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert rejected Thursday rejected any linkage of the Iraq war with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
"The attempt to create linkage between the Iraqi issue and the Mideast issue - we have a different view," Olmert told reporters in Tel Aviv, in his first response to the Iraq Study Group report.
Both Bush and Blair welcomed the report, authored by a bipartisan commission headed by former U.S. Secretary of State James A. Baker III and former Democratic Representative Lee Hamilton, and said its recommendations would be thoroughly studied. The leaders were careful, however, to emphasize that they would not necessarily accept all of the report's recommendations.
The Baker-Hamilton report is "certainly an important part of our
deliberations and an important part of our discussions this morning," Bush said. "I don't think Jim Baker and Lee Hamilton expect us to accept every recommendation."
Blair, who has stood shoulder to shoulder with Bush since the March 2003 invasion of Iraq, said he welcomed the conclusions of the report despite its criticism of past policies that both he and Bush advanced.
It "offers a strong way forward," Blair said. "The consequences of failure are severe."
Bush said he is planning to deliver a major speech to outline his decision for a new way forward.
"I think you're probably going to have to pay attention to my speech coming up here when I get all the recommendations," Bush said.
One of the study group's central recommendations was for the administration to reach out to Syria and Iran for help in stabilizing Iraq, a course Bush has rejected in the past.
"Countries that participate in talks must not fund terrorism, must help the young democracy survive, must help with the economics of the country," Bush said. "If people are not committed, if Syria and Iran are not committed to that concept, then they shouldn't bother to show up."
"Iran must verifiably stop its [uranium] enrichment program," said Bush. "Syria must stop destabilizing the Siniora government [in Lebanon], and must stop providing safe-harbor for terrorist groups."
For his part, Blair suggested that Iran's support for Shiite militants in
southern Iraq presented a problem. "Iran has been ... basically arming,
supporting, financing terrorism," the visiting British leader said.
Regarding the Middle East, both leaders reiterated their commitment to advancing the peace process, and said they would hold any Palestinian Authority government to the three principles set out by the so-called Quartet of Middle East peace negotiators - the United States, European Union, United Nations, and Russia.
The Quartet has conditioned the lifting of an international economic embargo of the PA on the Hamas-led government's recognition of Israel, renouncement of violence, and the acceptance of previously signed agreements.
"These are the heart of the issue, not a technical point," said Blair.
Blair says Iraq war, Middle East conflict connected
Author