Sharon’s Remarks Draw U.S. Rebuke

The White House scolded Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on Friday, dismissing as “unacceptable” his assertion that as the United States builds international support for its war on terrorism, it was prepared to sell out Israel the way Britain and France betrayed Czechoslovakia before World War II.

The angry rift with Washington’s strongest Mideast ally came as the Pentagon dispatched about 1,000 light infantry troops from the famed 10th Mountain Division to Uzbekistan, a predominantly Muslim former Soviet republic. Uzbekistan looms increasingly large in U.S. planning for an attack against Afghanistan, where suspected terrorist leader Osama bin Laden makes his headquarters.

The juxtaposition of friction with Israel and cooperation with Uzbekistan demonstrated the delicate nature of President Bush’s attempt to build a coalition that will convince the Muslim world that Washington’s fight is with Bin Laden and his extremist followers, not with Islam. Bush has tried to soften his government’s image as a one-sided supporter of Israel in an effort to temper anti-American sentiment on Arab streets.

So far, the effort does not seem to have convinced many in the Arab community. But it clearly worries Sharon.

In comments Thursday at a Tel Aviv news conference, Sharon compared the West’s actions today with those of European democracies in 1938, when the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia was sacrificed to appease Adolf Hitler. At the time, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain memorably declared that the agreement had achieved “peace in our time”; in 1939, Germany invaded Poland, starting World War II.

“Do not try to appease the Arabs on our backs,” Sharon said. “We will be unable to accept that. Israel will not be Czechoslovakia, Israel will fight terrorism.”

In response, White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer said, “The prime minister’s comments are unacceptable.” And he disputed Sharon’s accusation that U.S. efforts to recruit Arab and Muslim governments for the war on terrorism will sacrifice Israel’s security.

“Israel can have no better or stronger friend than the United States and . . . President Bush,” Fleischer said.

A White House official who requested anonymity noted a silver lining, saying, “If this makes it look as if we’re having an argument with Israel, that may have a positive effect in the Arab world.” But the official added: “It’s an unintended consequence.”

In Israel, Sharon was met with a barrage of criticism from political rivals, newspaper columnists and even some members of his Cabinet. All said he went too far in his complaints about U.S. policy.

Israeli opposition leader Yossi Sarid, head of the leftist Meretz Party, demanded that Sharon apologize. He said the prime minister’s comments were “groundless, miserable, uncalled for and dangerous . . . a show of ingratitude to America, without which Israel would have a hard time surviving.”

Foreign Minister Shimon Peres chose his words carefully during an interview on Israel’s Channel One television. He did not openly criticize Sharon--a longtime adversary with whom he frequently clashes--but made clear he did not agree with his boss.

“The Americans are fighting a war against terror--our war. We are fighting the same war,” Peres said. “President Bush has demonstrated real friendship to Israel. We must overcome the words that were said--words, they’re just words--and return to deal with the fundamental issues.”

Secretary of State Colin L. Powell delivered the U.S. reaction to Sharon in a Friday telephone call that also covered developments in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Sharon’s controversial remarks came after Bush’s comment this week that he supports creation of an independent Palestinian state as one goal of the Arab-Israeli peace process. U.S. policy has backed a Palestinian state for several years, but Bush had rarely--if ever--publicly voiced that position.

Senior U.S. officials said Sharon did not apologize for his remarks during his phone conversation with Powell. But Sharon issued a statement saying that in the talk, he expressed his appreciation for the “deep friendship and the special relations between the U.S. and Israel.”

Meanwhile, the Pentagon continued to move forces into position for an expected foray into Afghanistan.

The troops from the 10th Mountain Division left Ft. Drum, N.Y., on Friday after Uzbekistan’s president publicly declared that the U.S. military had permission to use one of his nation’s air bases for search and rescue missions and humanitarian efforts, such as food drops.

President Islam Karimov said in the capital, Tashkent, that his country is “not ready yet” to have its bases used for offensive strikes on Afghanistan.

Yet Uzbek officials also indicated privately that they would be flexible in considering U.S. requests for assistance, U.S. officials said.

Karimov made his comments during a news conference with Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, who wrapped up a trip that also took him to Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Oman this week.

Uzbekistan shares a 90-mile border with Afghanistan, just to its south. And Uzbek cooperation with the Pentagon has become key because of the reluctance of Pakistan to allow large numbers of U.S. troops to be stationed on its soil.

The 10th Mountain Division is expected to play only a supporting role in any strikes, but its troops could be part of a rapid reaction force if U.S. special forces found themselves in trouble in Afghanistan, officials have said. The division was put on standby this week. It marks the first acknowledged deployment of U.S. troops in a former Soviet republic.

Karimov, who fears that helping the U.S. could provoke attacks on his government by Afghanistan’s Taliban regime and by members of a Bin Laden-allied Uzbek terrorist group, said he would insist that the United States put an agreement on troop deployment in his nation in writing.

“So far the sides have not signed any documents, but preparation for this is underway,” Karimov said.

In Washington, President Eduard A. Shevardnadze of Georgia, another former Soviet republic, said he would allow his country’s airports to be used if needed for a military attack as part of the war on terrorism. Shevardnadze, as Soviet foreign minister, played a leading role in providing Moscow’s support for former President George Bush in the Persian Gulf War a decade ago.

“Both of our countries will be using all means at our disposal to wage an effective fight against terrorism,” Shevardnadze told reporters after meeting Deputy Defense Secretary Paul D. Wolfowitz at the Pentagon.

“On my part I will include Georgia’s airspace and if need be airfields and other infrastructure as well,” he said.

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Kempster reported from Washington and Wilkinson from Jerusalem. Times staff writers Paul Richter in Washington and Maura Reynolds in Moscow contributed to this report.