January 26, 2002	Saturday	Ziqa’ad 11, 1422

WASHINGTON, Jan 25: US Secretary of State Colin Powell said on Friday that the United States would consider a full range of diplomatic and political steps to take with Yasser Arafat and would not rule out a possible downgrading of US ties with the Palestinian Authority.

“The United States has a full range of option available to us of a political and diplomatic nature,” Powell said, renewing US demands that Arafat act against anti-Israel violence and move to punish Palestinian officials implicated in a foiled arms-smuggling operation.

“We continue to give a strong message to Chairman Arafat that he must act and we continue to review our policy with respect to the Palestinian Authority and Chairman Arafat,” he said.

Powell said he had reiterated that message directly to Arafat in a phone call on Wednesday.

“I had a very long talk with Chairman Arafat ... and once again pointed out to him the necessity for him taking strong, resolute, irreversible action to get terror under control, to get answers to the international community about the ship that was carrying all those arms,” he said.

Powell’s comments came after a meeting at the White House with Vice President Dick Cheney, Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and national security adviser Condoleezza Rice to mull options on the Middle East.

A senior US official said Washington would weigh possible punitive consequences for Arafat that could include a downgrade in relations with the Palestinian Authority and closing the PLO office here.

The official also said US President George W. Bush had presented Arab leaders with evidence the Palestinian Authority was involved in the smuggling attempt aboard the Karine A, and urged them to press Arafat to take action against those implicated.

Letters detailing the case were sent by Bush to the leaders of Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia over the last week, the official said.

“The president sent letters about a week ago to a number of Arab leaders to provide our conclusions on the Palestinian Authority’s involvement in the Karine A affair and make clear that that raised a lot of questions about Arafat,” the official said.

The Karine A, a Palestinian-captained ship carrying 50 tons of weapons, was seized by Israel in the Red Sea on Jan 3.

“The idea was to get them (the Arab leaders) to push Arafat to step up to the plate,” the official said.

BUSH ‘VERY DISAPPOINTED’: US President George W. Bush said on Friday he was “very disappointed” in Yasser Arafat and accused him of “enhancing terrorism” as his top aides weighed possible punitive measures against the Palestinian Authority.

“I am disappointed in Yasser Arafat,” Bush told reporters in Portland, Maine, when asked about Arafat’s failure to punish Palestinian officials the United States and Israel say are implicated in a foiled arms-smuggling operation.

“He must make a full effort to rout out terror in the Middle East,” he said. “In order for there to be peace, we’ve got to rout out terror and ordering up weapons that were intercepted on a boat headed for that part of the world, is not part of fighting terror, that’s enhancing terror.”

“Obviously we’re very disappointed in him.”—AFP