by Bill Koenig

I was in attendance July 29, 2003 for the Bush - Sharon White House Rose Garden event. President Bush and Prime Minister Sharon gave brief speeches, and then they took ques­tions from the U.S. and Israeli press.

You could tell from the very beginning the interaction between the two was very tentative, the worse by far in Sharon's eight trips to the White House. Bush kept attempt­ing to get a positive response from Sharon, but it wasn't forthcoming.

Sharon acknowledged Bush a few times only out of politeness, but he was reluctant. Sharon couldn't hide his dismay and he seemed very troubled.

What a contrast to the exuberance we witnessed in Sharon's last visit to the White House on October 16, 2002, when he said that Israel has never had a better friend in the White House than Bush. The Israeli media was also very exuberant on October 16, but on this date there was no life - you could sense their dismay. I spoke with two friends with the Israeli media, they tried to be positive, but they couldn't hide their inner feelings.

Sharon, who is a genius strategist, knows he has been maneuvered into a very dangerous position by the White House. The sad irony is that this is the result of the White House and State Department's desire to help prop up Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas aka Abu Mazen. Abbas has been under great political pressure imposed by PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat, the heads of Hamas and other terror groups.

Bush, Colin Powell and Condoleeza Rice's micromanagement of the situation in Israel will come back to haunt them, despite their concerns for Israel's security.

The White House made sure that both the Abbas and Sharon meetings and speeches started at the same time. There was energy in the Bush-Abbas meeting; there was not in the Bush-Sharon meet­ing. Abbas was all smiles, whereas Sharon seemed dejected. Bush went out of his way to be friendly to both leaders, Abbas responded, Sharon was reluctant.

I even noticed Bush try to nudge next to Sharon for a smiling photo-op when Sharon smiled for a brief second when he lost his place in his speech and Bush helped him recover. Even the photos on the White House web site showed smiles, but don't let those or any other reports fool you, this was not a good day.

Bush under Pressure - Israel Feeling the Brunt

President Bush has a very difficult situation to deal with in Iraq:

• American lives continue to be lost

• The reconstruction of Iraq is going to cost the U.S. $7.3 billion this year

• Troops stationed in Iraq will increase the bill by another $4 billion a month

• Capitol Hill has attacked him because of these costs

• Other countries have refused to help financially and won't send troops until the UN passes an Iraq resolution

• The terrorism war has helped throw the U.S. budget into record deficits

• His relationship with Saudi Arabia is currently under close scrutiny

Why else would the White House apply pressure on Sharon in order to help prop up Mahmoud Abbas, which has only empowered Yasser Arafat and the Palestinian militant organizations?

While Bush appears sensitive to certain pro-Israel Christian and Jewish voters, he is also subtly applying more pressure on Israel, while at the same time emphasiz­ing a secure Israel to attempt to satisfy part of his constituencies.

It is very likely that as times become more challenging for him politically, both nationally and internationally, President Bush will continue to increase his pres­sure on Israel, with the help of the State Department. History shows his effort will only worsen his situation and compound his problems.

Turning Point for Sharon

The turning point for Ariel Sharon began on May 15th when Secretary of State Colin Powell blamed Sharon for the impasse over his refusal to freeze and dismantle settlements. Below are the events that transpired:

• Powell meets with Middle East leaders on the Road Map

• Powell had meetings with King Abdullah II in Jordan - May 12

• U.S. offered to finance Palestinian Authority Security forces - May 12

• U.S. insisted on immediate implemen­tation of Roadmap - May 12

• Powell met with Crown Prince Abdullah in Riyadh - May 13

• Powell held Sharon accountable for the impasse (AP) - May 15

• Sharon met with Abu Mazen - May 17 • Sharon postpones trip to the White House after Jerusalem bombing - May 18

The following week U.S. Ambassador Daniel Kurtzer and ^e President Bush called on Sharon to approve the Road  Map.

Here is what transpired:

• The U.S. decided to press Israel to approve the Road Map quickly. U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Kurtzer delivered this message to Sharon on Tuesday, and Bush reiterated it in a telephone -conversation with the Prime Minister on Wednesday.

• Bush also talked with Abu Mazen on Wednesday - May 20-21

• Bush said terrorism will not stop the Middle East peace process - May 22

• Discussions began on a Bush-Sharon-­Mazen meeting in Egypt after the G-8 meetings - May 22

• The following week Powell met with the Pope,

• Bush headed to Egypt and Aqaba for a peace summit.

• Colin Powell met Pope John Paul II at the Vatican to discuss Iraq, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (June 2)

• Bush meet with Arab leaders in Egypt (June 3)

• Bush has three-way summit with Sharon and Mazen (June 4)

• Bush demands a halt to Jewish settle­ments (June 4)

• Bush says two states must share the Holy Land (June 4)

Sharon Calls on Europe to Avoid Arafat

On July 12, prior to Sharon's visit to Britain, he called on European nations and the Quartet to stop dealing with Arafat.

In response, Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Igor Ivanov, as part of his visit to the Middle East on July 13, went to Ramallah where he met with the Head of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) Yasser Arafat; PNA Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas; Chairman of the Palestinian Legislative Council Ahmed Qrei; PNA Minister of Foreign Affairs Nabil Shaath and other Palestinian leaders.

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon then met with his British counterpart Tony Blair on Monday evening, July 14, for talks over dinner, during which time Sharon asked Blair to rethink British support for Palestinian Authority Chairman Arafat.

Earlier that day, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw told Sharon that Britain would continue to work with Arafat, despite Sharon's contention that the Palestinian leader should be removed from power, a British official said.

Then on July 25, at the White House, President Bush met with all of the top Palestinian officials, excluding Yasser Arafat. However, Abbas did call on Israel to stop the Arafat siege with President Bush standing next to him.

Again, when it looked like Arafat would be eliminated, the World community and the U.S. State Department bailed him out. This time the White House helped out.

Rice Raised Objections with Sharon on the Road Map

While meeting with Palestinian leaders on June 29, Condoleeza Rice, the National Security Adviser, listened intently to com­plaints about the Israeli fence walling off Palestinians in the West Bank. The next day, she raised objections to the fence with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. The exchange, administration officials say, illustrates their new willingness to prod Israel and to get involved in the minutiae of the negotiations. The exchange between Ms. Rice and Mr. Sharon also showed, administration officials said, a decision to direct pressure from both the White House and the State Department, which had long been warring over Middle East policy. A senior official said that at that time it is a certainty that more pressure will be applied on Israel to cease con­struction of the fence in coming weeks. "The very fact that Condi Rice raised the issue of the fence with Sharon is significant," said an administration official. "We will be back on this issue if things don't improve."