Two royal families–the House of Saud and the House of Bush–did the do-si-do in Texas last week, warily circling each other in a search for Middle East peace. But the central figure in the dance was Crown Prince George. He’s thrived in the role of Bullhorn Bush, cheerleader on the rubble. But now he must play a convoluted inside game of measured words and lowered voices. It has not gone well so far. The treacherous and bloody politics of the Middle East have publicly divided his formerly tight-lipped administration, left America isolated diplomatically and sullied his hard-won reputation for decisiveness and plain speaking. His approval rating in the new NEWSWEEK poll has slipped to 71 percent–still lofty, but 17 points below its high point after September 11. “There’s a feeling that, on this issue, things are out of control,” said an outside adviser to the White House. “The only person who can restore order is the president.”
Charm alone won’t do it. Bush spent five hours with the prince, and laid on the now-standard pickup-truck tour. Abdullah didn’t threaten to suspend oil shipments. But he complained that the administration was tilting disastrously toward Israel; unless it became more “evenhanded”–and fast–the Saudis would be forced to “part company” with the United States. Translation: we’ll join the OPEC radicals. Abdullah said he’d support a peace conference–and gave Bush an eight-point plan–but only if it were designed to establish a Palestinian state. As for Yasir Arafat, he must have a “role,” though he wouldn’t actually have to attend the sessions. Bush, for his part, listened respectfully, and reminded Abdullah of the United States’ history of unequivocal support for Israel. After it was over, sources said, Bush was “shaken” and impressed by the prince’s fervor. The talks went well enough, and the Saudi plan was plausible enough, for diplomats to raise hopes of working-level meetings over the weekend.
But before Bush can engineer a peace conference–let alone a lasting peace–he has to pacify the warfare in his own camp. Secretary of State Colin Powell still fumes, friends say, about lack of support from the White House and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld’s weighty–and decidedly pro-Israel–role in foreign policy. Chief of staff Andrew Card and national-security adviser Condi Rice don’t have the inclination to forge a consensus.
As Bush listens, he may be pondering his father’s experience. In 1991 Bush the Elder withheld the approval of $10 billion in loan guarantees to Israel in a successful effort to force negotiations with the Palestinians. The move jump-started the peace process–and, “Ole 41” believes, helped cost him re-election in 1992. His son, eager to learn from his father’s mistakes, sees himself as a steadfast friend of Israel. But he’s under pressure from the right to prove it, especially after ordering Card to ask House leaders to table a resolution backing the Jewish state. (They agreed.)
It’s a delicate moment, in which the House of Bush can help–as a private conduit for Saudi complaints and presidential back-channeling. Bush’s sit-down with Abdullah was bracketed by Texas schmooze-a-thons between the Saudis and extended Bush family, including Uncle Dick Cheney. Bush One, said by a friend to enjoy a “very close and frank relationship” with the prince, was able to give Bush Two a heads-up–and an after-action report. He also was able to amplify messages from his son. Last year, in Junior’s presence, Bush the Elder phoned Abdullah to tell him that Dubya’s “heart was in the right place.” Last week Ole 41 could say the same thing. But this time, the prince could judge for himself.
