DEPUTY NAT'L SECURITY ADVISER: U.S. JUST APPEASING ARABS, E.U.

Deputy Nat'l Security Adviser: US is appeasing Arabs, EU (JPost)
The Bush administration is undertaking much of its current Israeli-Palestinian diplomacy to appease the Arabs and Europeans, a top White House official told a group of Jewish Republicans recently, according to those present.

Deputy National Security Adviser Elliott Abrams said much of the heightened State Department activity with the two parties was "process for the sake of process" and being done to "assuage the Arabs and the Europeans, who haven't been happy with the United States [and are] happy to see that there's at least an attempt or energy being put into the peace process," according to one attendee at the closed-door meeting.

In response to a question raised at the event about whether "European and Arab pressure could put Israel in a corner," the National Security Council issued a statement saying that "ultimately, the United States provides an emergency brake."

Abrams also told the meeting that he would guard against the bureaucrats at the State Department taking over American Middle East policy, as well as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice falling into the "Clintonian mode" of needing to point to achievements to secure her legacy as her term concludes, according to someone at the discussion. ...

Those at the Abrams briefing said they didn't detect tensions between Abrams and Rice, but rather between the White House approach and that of the State Department bureaucracy. Rice is a newcomer to that establishment, as she served above Abrams as national security adviser during President George W. Bush's first term.

SEE ALSO: NSC denies Rice-Abrams rift (JTA)
The National Security Council denied that deputy chief Elliott Abrams suggested to Jewish leaders that the White House differed from Condoleezza Rice on the pace of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.

"Advancing toward peace between Israelis and Palestinians and toward the president’s vision of two states living side by side in peace and security is not only Secretary Rice’s goal, it is a key goal of the president's,” said an NSC statement in response to a story in the Forward describing an apparent rift between Abrams and the U.S. secretary of state.

The Forward article described a briefing last week that Abrams delivered to Jewish leaders under the auspices of Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.), the only Jewish Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives. At that briefing and in other forums, Abrams reportedly said Rice's recent push to accelerate Israeli-Palestinian peace talks was "just process" and that President Bush would apply an "emergency brake" against any pressure on Israel.

"It is inaccurate to suggest that the White House and State Department are at odds on this issue, for the entire administration -- including Mr. Abrams -- is committed to pursuing it and the rest of the President’s agenda," said the NSC statement, which appears in a Forward story that was updated online and was confirmed by JTA.

"Moreover, Mr. Abrams' reference to an 'emergency brake' was in reply to a question about whether European and Arab pressure could put Israel in a corner, and was intended to make clear that this would not happen because ultimately the United States provides an emergency brake. It had nothing to do with efforts by the United States to push the process forward, under Secretary Rice's direction."