U.S. Plan for Mideast Reform Draws Ire of Arab Leaders

[Khephra]

U.S. Plan for Mideast Reform Draws Ire of Arab Leaders
By STEVEN R. WEISMAN and NEIL MacFARQUHAR

Published: February 27, 2004


WASHINGTON, Feb. 26 — An American proposal for the world's wealthiest nations to press for economic, political and cultural changes in the Middle East has drawn harsh criticism from Arab leaders and European officials, who say the Bush administration did not consult the countries it seeks to transform.

In addition, a Bush administration official said Thursday that some European officials had suggested they might block the initiative if there was no progress toward peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

The administration, seeking to overcome anti-Western and anti-American sentiments in the Arab world, is circulating a draft of what it calls a "Greater Middle East initiative." It hopes the idea will be adopted at the summit meeting of the eight leading industrial nations in June.

The draft has not been officially released, but after a copy was published earlier this month in Al Hayat, a London-based Arabic newspaper, and an English-language version was posted on its Web site, President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt and Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia criticized it as an attempt to dictate change.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/27/politics/27DIPL.html

[mac2]

1. Bush said, he wasn't into regime change.

Another lie that Europeans can see. It's all about nation building.