Cheney-Sharon talks focused on Iraq missile threat to Israel
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SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM
Thursday, March 21, 2002
WASHINGTON Ñ The Iraqi issue topped the agenda Tuesday during
Vice President Richard Cheney's talks with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel
Sharon in Jerusalem.
The United States has agreed to focus on the
destruction of Iraqi missile launchers deployed to attack the Jewish state
in any Washington-led military campaign against the regime of President
Saddam Hussein.
Diplomatic sources and Israeli officials
said Cheney and Sharon agreed on several points regarding a Washington-led
attack on Saddam and the threat of an Iraqi missile backlash against the Jewish state.
The agreement came amid high-level discussions between Jerusalem and
Washington that reviewed scenarios of a U.S.-led war against Baghdad, Middle East Newsline reported. Senior
officials from both countries have envisioned a series of threats from Iraq
as well as its allies in Lebanon and the Palestinian Authority.
"We are not talking about iron-clad agreements," a Western diplomatic
source said. "But the two countries have discussed and reached
understandings regarding several scenarios."
"We discussed all those issues, and I think that both sides know exactly
if such thing will occur, what we're going to do," Sharon said without
elaborating.
The discussions have included Israel's reactions to the prospect that
Iraq or its Arab and Islamic allies will attack the Jewish state. The two
countries are said to have reached an understanding over the military
priorities in any U.S. war against President Saddam Hussein.
The priorities focus on protecting Israel from an Iraqi nonconventional
missile attack. The sources said the administration has pledged to provide
early-warning alert for any Iraqi missile attack and focus its war effort on
destroying Iraqi missile launchers near the Jordanian border. The sources
said the understandings were reached during Cheney's visit this week.
"I had extensive discussions with Prime Minister Sharon on these
issues," Cheney said. "We discussed them before, and obviously we would
expect to stay in very close consultation and are looking forward with this
respect with how we might best deal with this threat."
The understandings also include an Israeli commitment to exhibit
restraint during any U.S.-led war against Iraq. The sources said the
commitment regards a series of scenarios raised by Washington.
"The U.S. discussions are meant to coordinate with Israel any response
to such scenarios," a diplomatic source said. "The Bush administration wants
to prevent a massive Israeli retaliation that could
derail any U.S. military effort against [Iraqi President] Saddam Hussein. A
key understanding by Israel is that the war against Iraq essentially takes
precedence over anything else."
In one scenario, Iraq fires missiles tipped with chemical warheads
toward Israel. U.S. intelligence agencies believe Iraq has installed
chemical warheads on Iraqi Scud-class missiles. But the agencies are
skeptical over the effectiveness of the warheads on aging Iraqi missiles,
meant to fly more than 400 kilometers.
The diplomatic sources said Israel has agreed to demonstrate restraint
in the face of such an Iraqi attack as long as the missiles are launched
from Iraqi territory rather than from neighboring Jordan or Syria.
The administration has also recommended that Israel show restraint in
case Iraq's allies fire missiles at the Jewish state. The most likely
scenario is that Hizbullah launches a rocket barrage from northern Israel.
Senior U.S. officials have sought agreement from Israel that any retaliation
to a Hizbullah attack would be tactical and limited to southern Lebanon.
Sharon has agreed to take into account U.S. considerations in responding
to any Hizbullah rocket attack. But the sources said the prime minister's
assurance was more vague than that concerning an Iraqi missile attack.
For his part, Sharon has sought U.S. understanding for an Israeli
military response to a third scenario Ñ that of a Palestinian rocket attack
on Israeli communities during the war against Saddam. The sources said
Sharon maintains that Israel would then reserve the right to respond with a
massive
attack that would destroy the PA or exile PA Chairman Yasser Arafat.
The administration appears divided over Sharon's request. The sources
said Cheney, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice and Defense
Secretary Donald Rumsfeld have expressed understanding of
Sharon's position. But Secretary of State Colin Powell has warned that a
massive Israeli response would derail any U.S. military campaign in Iraq.
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