Cheney to Visit Mideast Next Month
Vice President Dick Cheney will travel to 10 nations in the Middle East next month, including Israel and four states bordering Iraq, a top aide said Wednesday.
Among Cheney’s stops will be Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Turkey and Kuwait. All four neighbor Iraq, which President Bush last week named as part of an “axis of evil,” along with Iran and North Korea.
There has been wide speculation that Iraq could be the next target of the U.S. war on terrorism after the campaign that toppled the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, which hosted accused Sept. 11 mastermind Osama bin Laden.
“The vice president will hold wide-ranging discussions on matters of mutual interest, including our ongoing campaign against terrorism and other regional security issues,” top Cheney aide Mary Matalin said.
Cheney’s trip will also include Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar and Oman. He will also stop in Britain.
Aides sought to tamp down expectations that the trip might seek to promote the Middle East peace process between Israel and the Palestinians. Matalin said Cheney had no plans to meet with Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat.
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