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US President George W. Bush said in Washington Wednesday he assumed Israel would respond militarily if attacked by Iraq in the event of US military action against Baghdad. His comments followed a meeting with visiting Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
"If Iraq attacks Israel tomorrow, I would assume the prime minister would respond. He's got a desire to defend himself," Bush told reporters at the White House.
But Bush emphasized his hopes of solving the Iraqi issue without resorting to force, though the US Congress has authorized him to take military action if necessary.
"My hope is that we can achieve a disarmament of the Iraqi regime peacefully. I haven't given up on the fact that we can achieve it peacefully. We have no plans to use our military unlesswe need to," he said, adding that a military strike was his last choice.
The US president said Iraq must be disarmed, warning Baghdad that the international community will not tolerate an unprovoked attack on Israel.
Talking about the Middle East conflict, Bush restated his vision of two states living side by side, saying that US AssistantSecretary of State William Burns will return to the region to continue to push the peace process.
He said Prime Minister Sharon is committed to transferring someof the withheld Palestinian tax revenues to the Palestinian peoplebut noted that the money must not be used to support "terrorism."
Sharon told reporters that Israel will fight terror, defend itself, and in the meantime, continue to take necessary steps to move the peace process forward.
The Israeli prime minister expressed his satisfaction over the current relations with the Bush administration. "We never had suchrelations with any president of United States as we have with you (Bush). And we never had such a cooperation in everything as we have with the current administration," he said.
Sharon arrived from Jerusalem early on Tuesday for a three-day visit focusing mainly on security-related issues. Wednesday's callon the White House is his seventh since taking office in March 2001.
During his stay Sharon also is scheduled to hold talks with Secretary of State Colin Powell, Vice President Dick Cheney, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and congressional leaders, then head for home on Thursday.
(Xinhua News Agency October 17, 2002)
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