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U.S. reform push clashes with Arab demands
The usual suspects with the usual BS face off with Powell... and you know whose fault everything is...RABAT (Reuters) - U.S. calls for reform in the Middle East have clashed with Arab demands to solve the Arab-Israeli conflict as Washington insisted that economic and political modernisation is needed to fight terrorism. With unabated violence in U.S.-occupied Iraq, the inaugural "Forum for the Future" in Morocco was viewed by many in the Middle East as U.S. meddling even though American officials insist change must come from within the region. Outgoing U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said Washington was committed to working actively with Palestinians and Israelis to solve the conflict but that "reform does not have to wait for that". "We did not overlook some of the challenges that we are all facing in the region and uppermost in that list of challenges is the situation between the Israelis and the Palestinians," he told a news conference on Saturday at the close of the one-day conference. "But we cannot ignore the fact that reform has to go on ... A child who is in need of an education and will not be a contributing member of society without that education, needs that education now," he said. The original U.S. initiative to promote democracy across the Arab world was watered down after an outcry from Arab critics. More emphasis was put on economics and less on political reform. "Now is not the time to argue about the pace of democratic reform or whether economic reform must precede political reform," Powell told delegates from nearly 30 countries. "All of us confront the daily threat of terrorism. To defeat the murderous extremists in our midst we must work together to address the causes of despair and frustration that extremists exploit for their own ends," he said. Still hoping, after almost 60 years, to keep up the Paleo Gambit and avoid all other issues - particularly those leading toward substantive change. Nothing doing, boys. Posted by: .com 2004-12-12 |
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