Word: aziz
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...same time, Washington knows it must not appear overeager to fire the first round; hence the latest offer of talks. Originally, President Bush proposed that Iraqi Foreign Minister Tariq Aziz meet with him in Washington, after which U.S. Secretary of State Baker would confer with Saddam in Baghdad. But Saddam cleverly offered to receive Baker on Jan. 12, just three days before the deadline the U.N. has established for Iraq to leave Kuwait or face eviction by force. Bush replied that Saddam was trying to stretch out the grace period and insisted on an appointment on or before...
...went, both parties could be accused of rejecting what Bush called "the final step for peace" because of a trifling squabble over dates. Anxious not to be seen as the side that blinked, the Bush Administration offered what was supposed to look like a totally new idea: a Baker-Aziz meeting in Europe...
...talking to the monkey, you're not talking to the organ-grinder himself," lamented Les Aspin, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. The encounter with Saddam might yet come off. Bush last week ruled out such a meeting. But should the Iraqis, after a smooth Baker-Aziz get-together, invite Baker to Baghdad, Washington would find it difficult to decline...
...Baker and Aziz stick to their publicly stated agendas, it is difficult to imagine how their meeting will achieve anything. Aziz said last week he would use the talks to press the cause of the Palestinians, a subject Washington refuses to link formally to the gulf crisis. Washington meanwhile continued to insist that Baker would offer Aziz nothing more than an ultimatum: Leave Kuwait, or lose it in war. "There will be nothing in our message indicating that we are ready to float any kind of deal," said a senior Bush Administration official. If that is the case, said...
Would this be perceived as "linkage"? Not if it were merely a continuation of Baker's current willingness to "talk" about the Israeli situation, as he did for several hours with Aziz on Wednesday...