President George W Bush welcomed British Prime Minister Tony Blair to his Texas ranch Friday as Middle East violence pushed possible action against Iraq from atop their weekend summit agenda.
The meeting came a day after Bush ordered US Secretary of State Colin Powell to the region starting Sunday to pursue an elusive ceasefire that could, if not rally Arab nations behind Washington's designs to topple Iraq's Saddam Hussein, at least shore up support for the long-standing US policy goal.
But even as the White House acknowledged Arab concerns about Israel's week-long offensive in Palestinian cities, it signalled that it would not be swayed from its eventual goal of achieving "regime change" in Baghdad.
And Bush "will not be hindered in any way" from preventing Iraq from arming terrorists with biological, chemical, or nuclear weapons, "no matter what the complexities may be," in the region said White House spokesman Ari Fleischer.
Earlier, Blair -- who was expected to urge a firm but cautious approach towards Baghdad -- told NBC television^Meanwhile, Bush and top aides -- who largely kept mum on Israel's stepped up raids against Palestinians -- renewed sharp criticisms of Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat, stopping just short of declaring him irrelevant.
"My worry is that Yasser Arafat can't perform. He's been given plenty of opportunities," Bush said to ITV television in an interview broadcast Friday. "He has let his people down, and there are others in the region who can lead."
Bush went on to cite Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, King Abdullah of Jordan and President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, all of whom may meet next week with Powell.
Fleischer said the top US diplomat had "no plans" to meet with Arafat.
Fleischer offered a muted answer to reporters seeking a reaction to Israel's decision not only to shrug off Bush's appeal to quit Palestinian territories but step up its offensive against suspected militants.
"The president recognizes that, in a region that's been marred by violence for decades, major events don't necessarily happen overnight," he said. "Obviously, nations in the region are going to digest what he says."
Still, "the president meant what he said and he expects results," Fleischer told reporters. "The timetable is, as soon as possible."
Those comments came shortly before Blair arrived late Friday at Bush's beloved "Prairie Chapel" ranch for two days of talks. Blair is just the second world leader to be welcomed to the president's "Western White House," which was the site of a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in November.
Britain has stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the United States since the September 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and the prime minister has largely echoed tough US rhetoric towards Iraq, which is widely seen as the next target once the Afghan campaign is complete.
And US officials say they hope that London, with its "special relationship" to Washington, can play its traditional role as bridge to the rest of Europe, though they emphasize that they don't lack for direct channels.
But Blair faces resistance at home to broadening the campaign against terrorism to include Washington's long-stated aim of "regime change" in Baghdad and even some challenges to British support for the war on terrorism.
And the prime minister had been expected to release a dossier revealing evidence that Iraq was assembling weapons of mass destruction, thus preparing public opinion for some form of military action against Iraq.
But British newspapers this week reported that Blair had delayed publication on fears the document did not provide hard enough proof against Saddam.
Bush and Blair, meeting for the third time since the September attacks, were also slated to discuss NATO enlargement and world trade -- a sore topic since the US leader slapped sanctions on steel imports.
The British leader is just the second foreign leader to visit Bush's ranch, which hosted a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin last November.
(China Daily April 6, 2002)
