ARABS-ISRAEL - March 4 - Washington Doubts Sharon's Policy, Zinni To Go To The Region.

The US casts doubt on the wisdom of the policy of Sharon, with US State Secretary Powell saying: "Prime Minister Sharon has to take a hard look at his policies to see whether they will work". (The criticism is one of the strongest US attacks on Israeli policy since the Bush administration took office. On March 4, Sharon said the Palestinians "must first be hit hard" before peace talks can start, adding: "Only after they are beaten will we be able to hold talks, and I want a peace deal"). A senior US administration official says Sharon's statements this week amounted to "a declaration that he thought he could bomb the Palestinians into submission". Meanwhile, US Pres. Bush says he is dispatching US envoy Anthony Zinni to the Middle East next week to try to quell the Israeli-Palestinian fighting. Bush declares in the White House Rose Garden: "I am deeply concerned about the tragic loss of life and escalating violence in the Middle East". He says Zinni's prospects for progress are unclear, adding that "there are no assurances" but "that's not going to prevent our government from trying". US officials say the administration has decided to respond strongly to Sharon, lest the Israeli prime minister interpret Washington's silence as implicit permission to intensify the conflict or declare an all-out war. A US official said: "We had to make clear to him that there is simply no evidence that approach will succeed. At a minimum, it is a policy that will not work. More likely it will be counterproductive". (US criticism comes a day after Egyptian Pres. Mubarak implored the US administration to become more involved in seeking ways to stop the violence in the Middle East - see Egypt. It also comes a few days before US Vice President Cheney is scheduled to leave for the region on a journey to rally leaders to support a US-led campaign to oust Iraqi Pres. Saddam Hussein). Sharon responded to the US criticism, saying: "Israel is only fighting back against the terrorist organisation in the context of its right to self-defence. The one who initiated this war has the power to stop it, but he continues to prefer the war of terrorism". (The only previous public disagreement between Sharon and the Bush administration came in early October, when Sharon stunned the White House by calling on the US not to "repeat the terrible mistake of 1938, when enlightened European democracies decided to sacrifice Czechoslovakia so as to reach a convenient temporary solution" to Nazi expansion before World War II. Sharon warned Bush not to "appease the Arabs at our expense". After a rebuke from the White House was delivered through official channels, Sharon backed down slightly). But Powell also continued his criticism of Arafat and said that peace initiatives by Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the US were of little use as the fighting worsens.