The Bush administration regards the Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and
northern West Bank as
one of the most important U.S. foreign policy goals in 2005, officials said.
They said
President George
Bush has taken several steps meant to bolster Sharon's sagging political
standing among the Israeli electorate. Polls last week show Sharon losing
badly to challenger Binyamin Netanyahu in the ruling Likud Party, Middle East Newsline reported.
"I can understand why people think this decision is one that will create
a vacuum into which terrorism will flow," Bush said. "I happen to disagree.
I believe the decision that Prime Minister Sharon has made and is going to
follow through on will be good for Israel."
"We've [Bush and Sharon] grown close, and one of the reasons why is I
appreciate a person who when he says something, means it," Bush said in an
interview with Israel state television on Aug. 12.
"And I hope he
appreciates that about me. In other words, I said early on we're going to
join in fighting terror so that Israel could be secure and America secure
and other free nations secure. He knows I keep my word and I know he keeps
his word."
Bush has sent Elliot Abrams, a senior official in the National
Security Council and regarded as close to Sharon, to Israel. Assistant Secretary of
State David
Welch was expected to imminently arrive in Israel to ensure coordination
between Egypt, Israel and the PA, while Gen. William Ward was supervising
Israeli and PA military plans.
The Bush administration remains concerned that Israel
would be forced to suspend its withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and
northern West Bank amid heavy Palestinian fire and chaos within Israel's
military.
Officials said the administration has sought to address every scenario
connected to the implementation of Israel's withdrawal operation. They said
the administration has been briefed on every aspect of the deployment of
Israeli and Palestinian Authority forces during the withdrawal.
The key question was whether Palestinian insurgents would launch a
massive attack on Israeli civilians and soldiers during the
withdrawal. Officials said such a move could torpedo the withdrawal and lead
to a right-wing backlash against Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
"We are ready for casualties on both sides," an official said. "The
question is will these casualties delay the disengagement."
Officials said the administration was pressing for an immediate Israeli
withdrawal
despite the failure to complete arrangements with Egypt and the PA. They
said the
most important aspects of the withdrawal were the replacement of Israeli
troops along the 12-kilometer Egyptian-Gaza border with PA forces and
Egyptian commandos. Another vital aspect was PA control over insurgency
groups during the withdrawal.
"The Israelis have managed to demonstrate great restraint," an official
said. "But the challenge would be withdrawal under fire and how many
casualties Israel would be prepared to accept before retaliation. I expect
there will be frequent telephone calls from the president and the secretary
of state [to Sharon] during the withdrawal operation."
On Monday, Palestinian gunners fired at least two rockets into Israeli
communities in the central Gaza Strip. Nobody was injured and the Israeli
military did not retaliate. Hours later, Sharon warned in a nationwide
address that Israel would respond harshly to Palestinian fire.
Officials compared the U.S. attitude toward Israel to that during the
Gulf war in 1991. At the time, Bush's father, then president, sent senior
officials to persuade then-Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir to refrain from
responding to Iraqi missile strikes against Israeli cities.
The current administration has been encouraged by the determination of
the Sharon government to implement the withdrawal, which they said could be
completed within 10 days. But some officials envisioned a snag from Israel's
military, which they saw as responding often ineffectively to resistance by
Israeli withdrawal opponents.
"The administration's priority is to get through the withdrawal,
period," the official said. "That would be a major achievement
for U.S. policy in the Middle East."