International

Cheney to build support against terrorism

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

Washington March 10. The Vice-President, Dick Cheney, has left Washington for a ten-day twelve-nation tour, his first overseas trip in his official capacity. That the security for Mr. Cheney would be extremely tight is evident from the Vice-President using one of two Air Force planes normally used by the President, George W. Bush.

Mr. Cheney's first stop would be London. The administration, out of security considerations, has said very little about the programme of Mr.Cheney except that he would be stopping in Kuwait, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Turkey, Oman, Jordan, Israel and Yemen.

The Vice-President is also scheduled to visit the American troops in the region.

The basic thrust of Mr. Cheney's visit to West Asia is to build support for the campaign against terrorism, but he is also using the occasion to drum up support against Iraq and its weapons of mass destruction programmes.

The Republican administration is not going to town with the Iraq component of Mr. Cheney's trip, but it, nevertheless, is an important one. For the record, officials are saying that Mr. Cheney would stress the need to eradicate the Al-Qaeda cells operating in the region.

He would also be seeking closer cooperation in intelligence sharing and on the financial fronts vis-à-vis the Al-Qaeda. That Iraq will indeed be a major aspect of his trip can be seen in definite indications that the Vice-President would be making in the case against the Saddam Hussein regime.

The administration is trying to make the point — and in very clear terms — that the end game with Baghdad does not stop with admitting weapons inspectors back into the country. The bottom line is the elimination of the weapons of mass destruction programmes.

Another critical aspect of Mr.Cheney's trip is the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians and for the West Asia peace process to fall back on track.

The administration, which has so enthusiastically welcomed the plan of Saudi Arabia — Israel pulling back to the pre-1967 borders in return for full Arab recognition — finds the same not endorsed enthusiastically by other hardline Arab nations and Israel.

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