CRAWFORD, Texas — President Bush is planning to travel to the Middle East early next month to advance the peace process amid fresh signs of progress in ending the violence between Israelis and Palestinians, senior administration officials said Sunday.
A military support plane left Washington on Sunday morning, carrying personnel who will lay the groundwork for a summit in Sharm el-Sheik, Egypt. Another possible site being explored was the royal retreat at Aqaba, Jordan.
Bush tentatively plans to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas in Egypt to prod them into putting the peace "road map" into effect. Administration officials were still weighing whether Bush would meet with the two leaders together or separately.
It was possible Bush would make another stop in the region as well, the leading choice being Doha, Qatar, to visit troops, three administration officials said.
The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Bush's plans could change. Political events in the region Sunday gave the plan momentum, but future developments could just as easily derail it, one senior administration official said. The administration wanted the support team in position so Bush could make a last-minute decision, this official said.
But others said the plan was quickly firming up, with a strong focus on the Egypt summit.
Bush leaves Friday for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and then a summit of world powers in Evian, France. The Mideast travel would follow that.
Sharon on Friday reluctantly embraced the road map after the United States assured him publicly it would take into account Israel's objections to some parts of the proposal.
The Israeli Cabinet on Sunday voted 12-7, with four abstentions, to approve the plan, but also objected to significant parts. Sharon was to meet with Abbas on Tuesday — their second summit in 10 days — to work out the next steps.
The Palestinians last month accepted the road map, which envisions a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip by 2005.
"We welcome this development in confirmation of prime minister Sharon's acceptance of the road map," State Department spokeswoman Tara Rigler said of the Israeli Cabinet's vote. "We will continue to work closely with both sides throughout implementation of the road map."
The chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said the vote was a "big deal, but the president's involvement is the biggest deal."
Before the Iraq war, Sen. Richard Lugar said he was told by the president that he was going to lead the road map process because of its importance to world peace.
A leading Democrat in the Senate urged the administration to become more closely involved in the peace process and said the president should go ahead with the meeting.
"The Bush administration has effectively been disengaged from the ground in the Middle East, and when that happens, nothing good will happen between the Israelis and the Palestinians," Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., told "Fox News Sunday."
"We're indispensable there. They need us because we're the only one they trust," said Lieberman, who is seeking his party's 2004 presidential nomination. "There's a moment of opportunity here."