U.S. Calls Middle East Diplomat Home

December 15, 2001, 12:30 PM

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By Lawrence L. Knutson, AP Staff

WASHINGTON -- President Bush's envoy leading the U.S. drive to broker a cease-fire between Israelis and Palestinians was told Saturday to return to Washington after three weeks of intense but futile efforts at mediation.

Retired Marine Gen. Anthony Zinni "will remain engaged and return to the region" after consulting with President Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powell on how best to proceed, the State Department said.

Government officials said Zinni probably will remain in the United States through the holiday season.

Zinni, the former top U.S. commander in the Middle East, conferred on Saturday with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, hours before the Bush administration announced he would leave the region.

"Ending the ongoing terror and violence is the top priority for the U.S. but major challenges remain which both the Israelis and the Palestinians will have to overcome," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said in a statement.

"The U.S. is committed to doing everything it can to help the two sides end the violence and return to a political process," Boucher said. "We will remain engaged with Israel and the Palestinian Authority in working toward a durable cease-fire."

Zinni had met separately several times with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

His mission was accompanied by a surge in attacks by Islamic militants on Israelis, followed by Israeli reprisals in which 63 Palestinians and 44 Israelis were killed.

Zinni and top U.S. leaders repeatedly demanded Arafat arrest those responsible for suicide bombings against Israeli civilians, and they said he held direct responsibility.

Zinni's efforts were complicated further when the Israeli government said Wednesday it was severing contacts with Arafat. Zinni then suspended talks with the two sides to appeal directly to Arab leaders to intervene with Arafat.

Jordan's King Abdullah II met Friday with Zinni and other U.S. diplomats in Amman. He later urged the United States to stay engaged, saying its role is vital to ensure stability in the region. Zinni then met with Mubarak in Cairo.

Ari Fleischer, President Bush's spokesman, said on Friday that while Zinni was sent to the troubled region to be helpful, "he was not sent there forever." But Fleischer said the United States was not abandoning efforts to quell the violence and restore the peace process.

Bush said Zinni's mission was being made more difficult because Arafat is reluctant to round up "killers and people who would derail the peace process."

(Copyright 2001 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)