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24 Shevat 5762 08:26Wednesday February 6, 2002
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Powell: US ready to talk to Iran
By Janine Zacharia
WASHINGTON (February 6) - Just one week after US President George W. Bush grouped Iran with an "axis of evil" and warned the United States would "do what is necessary" to protect itself from threats posed by that nation, Secretary of State Colin Powell told legislators the US is "ready to talk" to Iran.
Powell was testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee about the State Department's slice of the administration's 2003 budget request. The international affairs portion totals $25.4 billion, a $1.4 billion increase over the previous year.
"With regard to Iran we have a long-standing list of grievances, but at the same time we've been in conversation with Iran," Powell said. He took note of the "positive role" Iran played in the US campaign against al-Qaida and Iran's contribution to Afghanistan's reconstruction efforts.
"But we also have to take note of their efforts with regard to the ship, the Karine A. We have to take note of some of the things some parts of the Iranian government are doing in Afghanistan, which are not as helpful as what other parts of the Iranian government are doing.
"We have to take note of the fact that they are still a state sponsor of terrorism. And so we are ready to talk, but we will not ignore the reality that is before our eyes," Powell said.
Powell's comments reflect the different instincts in the administration, which predates September 11. The State Department has been more willing to reach out to the Iranians to try to thaw ties frozen more than two decades ago. By contrast, the Pentagon, and now the White House, appear to favor a sterner approach. The Karine A affair largely tipped the balance in the Pentagon's favor.
One State Department official said, however, there is little dissonance between the two views and Powell was merely saying the US "has not ruled out diplomacy" as an option for dealing with Iran.
On the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Powell renewed the US commitment "to try and focus the parties on the need to walk back from violence to find a political solution."
On Monday, Powell met with Palestinian Legislative Council speaker Ahmed Qurei (Abu Ala) and Arafat's financial adviser Muhammad Rashid. In that 40-minute exchange, Abu Ala asked that the US not abandon the peace process and work with PA Chairman Yasser Arafat.
He also highlighted Arafat's opinion piece in The New York Times, in which he showed a willingness to talk peace, the PA's arrest of a Palestinian official with regard to the Karine A affair, and the detainment of a PFLP official in connection with the assassination of former tourism minister Rehavam Ze'evi, according to a State Department official.
Powell called the moves "steps in the right direction" but said Arafat and the PA need to do more.
Today, senior US officials will hear from Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer and tomorrow Bush and Powell are to meet with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon at the White House.
In the 2003 foreign affairs budget request Israel is to receive $2.7b. in total aid including $600 million in economic assistance and $2.1b. in military assistance. An additional $60m. is to be allocated for the settlement of primarily Ethiopian refugees.
Egypt is to receive a total of $1.9b. And there is a request for $75m. to be directed toward humanitarian projects in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
The biggest increase this year in terms of Middle Eastern assistance will go to Jordan, which is to receive $448m. total - an increase of $223m. - as a reward for Jordanian cooperation in the war on terrorism.
According to the president's budget request released by the White House, the funds are designed to "strengthen [Jordan's] security capacity and enhance its economic potential."
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