Secretary of State Colin Powell has sent a important signal with his criticism of Israel. He was less successful in dealing with the problem of sanctions against Iraq.

The administration in Washington is new, but the problems in the Middle East are old -- some of them age-old. The Bush administration had hoped to be given a chance to start with a clean slate in dealing with chronic issues such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the deteriorating international sanctions against Iraq, but Colin Powell's first trip to the region as secretary of state has put an end to such wishful thinking.

Powell's trip still has served a useful purpose. Such an intensive visit so early in the new administration sends an important signal that the Middle East remains high on Washington's foreign policy agenda. And Powell has taken the opportunity to articulate subtle shifts in policies inherited from the Clinton administration (and from the administration of President Bush's father).

First, Powell got the region's attention by criticizing Israel's "siege" against Palestinian workers in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Arab governments are deeply suspicious of Washington's ability to serve as an honest broker in whatever remains of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Those suspicions were heightened during the fall presidential campaign, when neither George W. Bush nor Al Gore ever uttered a word of criticism of Israel's behavior during the latest outbreak of violence in the occupied territories.

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat deserved the blame Washington heaped on him for the breakdown in peace talks last year. His flat rejection of a generous peace offer from then-Prime Minister Ehud Barak destroyed those negotiations -- and destroyed Barak's government. However, Israel's military and economic response to the ensuing Palestinian violence should not be immune from criticism. With the hawkish Ariel Sharon having replaced Barak, Powell's criticism of Israel's systematic harassment of Palestinian workers sent an important early message.

Powell was less successful in his effort to stake out a graceful retreat from an Iraq sanctions policy that has become counterproductive. Despite a show of solidarity during a Kuwait ceremony marking the 10th anniversary of the Persian Gulf War, Powell understands that the United States has lost the public relations war to Saddam Hussein in most of the Arab world -- and in much of the industrialized world as well.

Despite a devastating military defeat and 10 years of crushing economic sanctions, Hussein is still entrenched in power. Meanwhile, the United States, not Iraq, finds itself politically isolated in the region, international weapons inspectors have been barred from doing their jobs for the past two years and more and more governments are finding ways to trade with Iraq.

Powell deserves credit for acknowledging the need to reassess a policy that has become as unpopular as it is ineffective. He proposed Monday exempting an array of civilian goods from the Iraqi sanctions as a way of neutralizing complaints that the sanctions have unnecessarily harmed the Iraqi people. That gesture may win the new Bush administration some good will in the region.

However, it won't immediately lead to the face-saving deal Powell is hoping for: a lifting of economic sanctions in return for a renewed inspections regime that can effectively limit Iraq's ability to build weapons of mass destruction. Old grievances don't disappear that quickly in that part of the world. Powell, who was dealing with these same crises more than a decade ago, surely realizes that as well as anyone.

Back to Opinion

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright

From the Times
Opinion page