02 October 2006

Rice Seeks To Rally Moderate Forces in Middle East

Secretary says Bush administration remains committed to promoting democracy

 

Secretary Rice is greeted by Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal upon her arrival in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, October 2. Rice is traveling in the Middle East October 1-5 to consult with regional leaders and explore ideas for dealing with problems surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. (State Department photo)

Secretary Rice is greeted by Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, October 2. (State Department photo)

By David Shelby
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice hopes to “rally moderate forces and moderate voices in the Middle East” during a weeklong trip to the region to visit Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Israel and the Palestinian territories.

“[T]he countries that we're meeting with particularly in the GCC+2 is a group that you would expect to support the emerging moderate forces in Lebanon, in Iraq and in the Palestinian territories,” she told reporters on the airplane en route to the region.

The GCC+2 includes the six countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council -- Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates -- along with Egypt and Jordan.  Rice said the GCC+2 provides an important new framework to discuss Middle East peace and regional stability.

“I do think that the GCC+2 effort is new and it gives us an opportunity in a new configuration to work with the moderate states and the moderate voices in the region both to support these new moderate forces like [Fouad] Siniora's government in Lebanon, … the presidency of Mahmoud Abbas [of the Palestinian Authority] and the government of Iraq.  And that configuration I think can be quite powerful in resisting extremist forces as well,” she said.

Rice is scheduled to participate in a meeting of GCC+2 foreign ministers in Cairo, Egypt, October 3.

Rice said that her attempt to engage voices of moderation does not conflict with the Bush administration’s efforts to promote democracy in the Middle East.

“I'm also going to talk about democracy because the forces of moderation ultimately have to transition into moderate democratic forces or the Middle East I think is not going to be stable,” she said.

“We have with the Saudis these discussions.  We have with the Egyptians these discussions .… Jordan is making really great strides in its political evolution,” she said.  “These countries are not moving at the same speed and they're not going to move at the same speed, but the president isn't going to stop pressing for democracy because he believes that ultimately it's the force that will stabilize the Middle East most.”  (See related article.)

Rice praised Saudi Arabia’s efforts to draw Iraq’s Sunni Arabs into that country’s political process and the Saudi contribution of $1.5 billion to help Lebanon rebuild after Israel’s monthlong assault on Hezbollah.  She said she would encourage Saudi’s King Abdallah bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud to continue working for the stabilization of Lebanon and Iraq and to provide greater support to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

A transcript of Rice’s briefing is available on the State Department Web site.

For ongoing coverage of this visit to the region, see Secretary Rice's Trip to the Middle East.

For more information on U.S. policy, see Middle East and North Africa.

(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)