With Iraq in background, Bush, Brown to open first summit

[rodeodance]

Source: afp




With Iraq in background, Bush, Brown to open first summit

by Maxim Kniazkov 13 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Gordon Brown open their first official summit Sunday as they make a concerted effort to prevent the divisive issue of Iraq from damaging the bilateral alliance.
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With both sides emphasizing the breadth of their ties, a red-carpet welcome has been scheduled for the new British leader at the presidential retreat in Camp David, Maryland, for 5:55 pm (2155 GMT).

But there were early indications that the thorny issue of Iraq and the growing clamor on both sides of the Atlantic for an early military pullout from there could weigh heavily on the meeting designed to set the tone for the Bush-Brown relationship.

On the eve of Brown's arrival, The Sunday Times of London reported on its website that Simon McDonald, the prime ministers chief foreign policy adviser, had earlier this month tried to sound out top US foreign policy experts about the possibility of an early pullout of British troops from Iraq.

The White House flatly refused to comment on the report -- but issued no denial.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070729/wl_uk_afp/usbritainiraqmilitary;_ylt=ApsFQtSwuAOfvUlXi2zd5iYUewgF

[rodeodance]

1. .. There are also signs of disarray within the administration.

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/story/18465.html


...... There are also signs of disarray within the administration.

On the eve of the trip, unnamed U.S. officials told The New York Times that Washington believes Saudi Arabia has been unhelpful in Iraq by not supporting Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki's government. The administration publicly disavowed the report, but said that Saudi Arabia could do more to help. The leaked complaint seems unlikely to make life easier for Rice and Gates when they arrive in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, early in the trip.

The Bush administration also is divided over Iran, with Vice President Dick Cheney’s office pushing for an aggressive military response to Iran's reported aid and training for Shiite militias attacking U.S. troops in Iraq, senior officials said.

Gates and Rice will attend meetings together in Sharm al Sheikh, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia. Rice will then head for Israel and the Palestinian territories to meet with Israeli leaders and Mahmoud Abbas, the weakened Palestinian Authority president whose administration was run out of Gaza by the Islamist group Hamas. Gates is scheduled to visit other gulf states.

Senior Pentagon and State Department officials said the trip is intended to reassure Arab leaders that the U.S. will uphold its security commitments in the region, even as Congress debates pulling troops out of Iraq.

[Benhurst]

2. How can a low-life like Bush and Little Tony's sidekick Gordon Brown

hold a summit?

Oh well. Everything is relative. Elevating themselves a millimeter above a dog turd would suffice, I guess.