by Zhao Yi

U.S. President George W. Bush (R) hosts a meeting with Israel Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, June 4, 2008.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    WASHINGTON, June 4 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President George W. Bush met with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert at the White House Wednesday upon the latter is being forced by domestic political rivals to resign over graft allegations.

    The summit meeting, which occurred at a time when U.S. officials acknowledged the uncertainty about Olmert's future, demonstrates, among others, the Israeli premier's determination to rebuff calls that he must leave office over allegations that he took envelopes stuffed with cash from a Jewish-American businessman.

　　DIFFERENT FOCUSES

    Apart from the show of Olmert's determination to remain in office, Bush's latest meeting with the Israeli prime minister, which, the White House claimed, was not scheduled days before its occurrence, is also seen as sending a message that Washington remains expecting Olmert to hold on before the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks makes any possible progress before Bush leaves the White House in January 2008.

    It has been noticed that while Olmert, 62, is facing a chorus at home for resignation because of political scandals, Bush called the Israeli premier an "honest man", and welcomed him to be back to Washington.

    However, Bush's affirmation about Olmert's personality does not cover up an emerging difference between the two. In response to questions about the unprecedented political pressure against Olmert, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said on Tuesday that President Bush is focusing on "the big picture" -- the Middle East peace process rather than the embattled Olmert's future.

    "Our focus hasn't been on that, I know that there has been a lot of attention, especially in the Israeli press and some international press, about Israeli politics," Perino said of Olmert's difficult situation.

    "But President Bush has to keep his focus on the big picture, and so he is not spending a lot of time worried about that, he is focused on how do we get the Palestinian state defined before the end of the year," She noted.

    Local mass media quoted an unidentified Israeli official as reporting that the White House "was certain" last week that Olmert would not visit Washington due to political charges against him.

    AIM DEGRADED

    Bush has underlined time and again that a two-state solution to the chronic Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the best interest of the world, and expressed confidence in seeing a permanent peace accord reached before the end of his presidency.

    Meanwhile, there has been widespread skepticism about the wishful thinking because Israel and the Palestinians remain far apart on four core issues: the final borders of a Palestinian state, the future of Jerusalem, the disputed Israeli settlements, and Palestinian refugees.

    The uncertainty about Olmert's leadership has apparently made the pledge by the Bush administration to strike some kind of an outline peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians even harder, analysts said.

    U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Tuesday there was still chance to frame a deal between Israel and the Palestinians, but analysts have noticed that she stopped saying the ambitious goal could be sealed by the end of this year, which has been a slogan by the Bush administration since the Annapolis meeting in November 2007.

    "If we can pursue this goal by end of the year, it will be an historic breakthrough," Rice told a policy conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a pro-Israeli lobby group.

    But she quickly added that the realization of the goal may last into the next U.S. administration. "The goal itself, though, will endure beyond the current U.S. leadership ... I believe that the administration's approach to this problem will and must endure."

    SUBTLE DIFFERENCES

    Of all topics expected to be dealt with during the U.S.-Israel summit, Iran's nuclear issue is apparently prominent. For decades, both the United States and Israel have urged unanimously to contain and counter Iran for its controversial nuclear program and alleged interference in Iraqi and Lebanese affairs.

    However, judging from the latest remarks on Iran by Bush and Olmert and their top aides, all asserting that Iran is a "threat" to peace, there might be found out slight differences among them.

    "Iran is an existential threat to peace, and it's very important for the world to take the Iranian threat seriously, which the United States does," Bush told reporters minutes before his talks with Olmert.

    Addressing the AIPAC conference, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said "A regime that denies the Holocaust, threatens and murders its neighbors citizens, and seeks to destroy a member of the United Nations should not be allowed to cross the nuclear threshold," referring to strong anti-Israel statements by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

    Citing Iran's insistence to hold its nuclear right, Rice also called any dialogue with Iranian leaders pointless "while they continue to inch closer to a nuclear weapon." True diplomacy "is not a synonym for talking," but must be combined with pressure tactics, the top U.S. diplomat noted.

    Instead of mentioning "all options on the table" with Iran as Bush did long before, Rice said "Our partners in Europe and beyond need to exploit Iran's vulnerabilities more vigorously and impose greater costs on the regime economically, financially, politically and diplomatically."

    In comparison, Olmert said that "Israel will not tolerate the possibility of a nuclear Iran, and neither should any other country in the free world." He insisted that "International economic and political sanctions on Iran, as crucial as they may be, are only an initial step, and must be dramatically increased."

    In Olmert's word, "The Iranian threat must be stopped by all possible means," indicating that military resort can not be excluded. These are believed to be the strongest remarks the Israeli leader has made on the issue.

    As an annotation, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni urged the international community on Tuesday to maintain pressure on Iran and keep the option of military action open, to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

    Iran "needs to understand the military threat exists and is not being taken off the table," Livni told Israeli parliament's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.

 

U.S., Israeli leaders call Iran "threat" to peace

    WASHINGTON, June 4 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President George W. Bush met with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert at the White House on Wednesday with both sides describing Iran as a "threat" to peace that needs to be confronted.

    "It's very important for the world to take the Iranian threat seriously, which the United States does," said Bush, while Olmert called Tehran "the main threat to all of us."  Full story

Olmert, Abbas meet on peace talks

    JERUSALEM, June 2 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met in Jerusalem on Monday afternoon, the top official will focus on the usual topics of the ongoing peace talks.

    Abbas expressed his desire to push forwards the staggering peace process revived at the Annapolis peace conference in November, despite Israel's political situation over a corruption scandal that could force Olmert out of office, according to website edition of local daily Yedioth Ahronoth.  Full story