Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Friday denied an account by another Palestinian official of a meeting with US President George W. Bush, in which Bush is cited as saying he believed that God told him to go to war in Afghanistan and Iraq.
A statement in Abbas' name released by his office said that an excerpt from an interview with Palestinian Information Minister Nabil Shaath due to be broadcast by the British Broadcasting Corp in which Shaath described a meeting with Bush in June 2003 gave a "completely false" account.
In the interview for the series "Israel and the Arabs." Shaath described the meeting, at which he said Abbas was present.
"President Bush said to all of us: `I'm driven with a mission from God. God would tell me, `George, go and fight those terrorists in Afghanistan.' And I did. And then God would tell me, `George, go and end the tyranny in Iraq.' And I did," Shaath said.
Bush went on: "And now, again, I feel God's words coming to me, `Go get the Palestinians their state and get the Israelis their security, and get peace in the Middle East.' And, by God, I'm gonna do it."
Bush, who became a born-again Christian at 40, is one of the most overtly religious leaders to occupy the White House, a fact which brings him much support in middle America.
Soon after, the Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz carried a Palestinian transcript of the meeting, containing a version of Bush's remarks. But the Palestinian delegation was reluctant publicly to acknowledge its authenticity.
"This report is not true," the Abbas statement said on Friday. "I have never heard President Bush talking about religion as a reason behind the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. President Bush has never mentioned that in front of me on any occasion and specifically not during my visit in 2003."
The BBC persuaded Shaath to go on the record for the first time for a three-part series. Israel and the Arabs: Elusive Peace will be broadcast in Britain on Oct. 10, 17 and 24, and in its entirety on PBS in the US.
Religion also surfaced as an issue when Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair were reported to have prayed together in 2002 at his ranch at Crawford, Texas -- the summit at which the invasion of Iraq was agreed in principle. Blair has consistently refused to admit or deny the claim.
Mahmoud Abbas, who was also part of the delegation at Sharm el-Sheikh, told the BBC that Bush said: "I have a moral and religious obligation. I must get you a Palestinian state. And I will."
Shaath's comments came as Bush delivered a speech on Thursday aimed at bolstering US support for the Iraq war.
"We're facing a radical ideology with unalterable objectives: to enslave whole nations and intimidate the world," he said.
He conceded that insurgents had gained ground in Iraq but the US would not leave until security had been established.
"Some observers also claim that America would be better off by cutting our losses and leaving Iraq now. This is a dangerous illusion, refuted with a simple question: Would the United States and other free nations be more safe, or less safe, with Zarqawi and Bin Laden in control of Iraq, its people, and its resources?" Bush asked.
Former Nicaraguan president Violeta Chamorro, who brought peace to Nicaragua after years of war and was the first woman elected president in the Americas, died on Saturday at the age of 95, her family said. Chamorro, who ruled the poor Central American country from 1990 to 1997, “died in peace, surrounded by the affection and love of her children,” said a statement issued by her four children. As president, Chamorro ended a civil war that had raged for much of the 1980s as US-backed rebels known as the “Contras” fought the leftist Sandinista government. That conflict made Nicaragua one of
BOMBARDMENT: Moscow sent more than 440 drones and 32 missiles, Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, in ‘one of the most terrifying strikes’ on the capital in recent months A nighttime Russian missile and drone bombardment of Ukraine killed at least 15 people and injured 116 while they slept in their homes, local officials said yesterday, with the main barrage centering on the capital, Kyiv. Kyiv City Military Administration head Tymur Tkachenko said 14 people were killed and 99 were injured as explosions echoed across the city for hours during the night. The bombardment demolished a nine-story residential building, destroying dozens of apartments. Emergency workers were at the scene to rescue people from under the rubble. Russia flung more than 440 drones and 32 missiles at Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy
COMPETITION: The US and Russia make up about 90 percent of the world stockpile and are adding new versions, while China’s nuclear force is steadily rising, SIPRI said Most of the world’s nuclear-armed states continued to modernize their arsenals last year, setting the stage for a new nuclear arms race, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said yesterday. Nuclear powers including the US and Russia — which account for about 90 percent of the world’s stockpile — had spent time last year “upgrading existing weapons and adding newer versions,” researchers said. Since the end of the Cold War, old warheads have generally been dismantled quicker than new ones have been deployed, resulting in a decrease in the overall number of warheads. However, SIPRI said that the trend was likely
‘SHORTSIGHTED’: Using aid as leverage is punitive, would not be regarded well among Pacific Island nations and would further open the door for China, an academic said New Zealand has suspended millions of dollars in budget funding to the Cook Islands, it said yesterday, as the relationship between the two constitutionally linked countries continues to deteriorate amid the island group’s deepening ties with China. A spokesperson for New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters said in a statement that New Zealand early this month decided to suspend payment of NZ$18.2 million (US$11 million) in core sector support funding for this year and next year as it “relies on a high trust bilateral relationship.” New Zealand and Australia have become increasingly cautious about China’s growing presence in the Pacific
RSS