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Last update - 16:29 16/03/2008 Cheney en route to Mideast for 9-day visit with regional leaders By Reuters Tags: Israel, Iran, Iraq, Cheny Vice President Dick Cheney left on Sunday for the Middle East to raise concerns about high oil prices, push Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, and seek support for Iraq, where war began five years ago this week. Cheney, who has strong ties with leaders in the Middle East, will visit Oman, Saudi Arabia, Jerusalem, the Palestinian territories, and Turkey during a nine-day trip to the region. "Clearly, our ongoing efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan will be discussed," John Hannah, national security adviser to Cheney, told reporters. "Middle East peace, Iran, the situation in Syria, Lebanon, the violence in Gaza, energy - it's a very long list and rich agenda." Advertisement Cheney will reinforce the message from visits by President George W. Bush in January and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice earlier this month, in a stepped-up diplomatic push for Israelis and Palestinians to move forward on peace efforts dealt a blow by violence in Gaza and Israel. "The mood has deteriorated incredibly in the last six weeks since the president was there," said Jon Alterman, director of the Middle East program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "From the outside it's very hard to see that Secretary Rice was able to even arrest the slide let alone get things moving forward. My guess is the vice president will be able to arrest the slide if not necessarily put things on track," he said. In Saudi Arabia, Cheney will discuss energy with King Abdullah as record-high oil prices strain the U.S. economy, but he was not expected to repeat the call by Bush for OPEC to increase production. "I'm not sure he'll seek anything more than a good and thorough discussion about the current situation in the global energy markets," a senior administration official said. The United States wants Saudi Arabia, and other Arab allies like Egypt, to set up a diplomatic presence in Iraq by appointing an ambassador and opening an embassy in Baghdad. "The United States can do a lot for Iraq, but we cannot provide Iraq with an anchor in the Arab world, a kind of legitimacy for the new Iraqi project that comes from being fully integrated in its neighborhood," the U.S. official said. "And I think clearly some of our friends in the Arab world can do more on that score," he said on condition of anonymity. But analysts were skeptical that Cheney would make any major breakthroughs. "I don't think that he's going to be able to bring back anything meaningful because he's got nothing to offer," Steven Simon, a senior fellow for Middle Eastern studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, said. "He represents a lame duck president, a floundering economy, a situation in which the U.S. for all its efforts in Iraq has no leverage on the government in Baghdad," Simon said. Throughout his trip, Cheney will discuss the situation in Iraq, where security has improved, but violence persists five years after the U.S.-led invasion. Bush will soon receive a new assessment from General David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, and U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker, that he will weigh in deciding whether any changes to U.S. strategy are needed. Cheney will tell allies that the United States remains concerned about Iran's nuclear ambitions and would like to see its growing regional influence contained. "I expect in all of these countries that the challenge we face from Iran will be a very high topic of conversation," the U.S. administration official said. The message for Turkey, which has been fighting Kurdish rebels known as the PKK in northern Iraq, will be that the United States agrees "the PKK is a terrorist organization that needs to be defeated," and will continue to support Turkey in addressing the problem, the official said. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Facebook face-off Settlers win right to list country as Israel, not Palestine. Shin Bet.com The covert agency has deployed a new weapon: the blog.   1.   This guy is no.2 in the criminal chain of command! 18:44  |  lakshmi 16/03/08   2.   Cheney and Peace - ROFL 19:04  |  Simon 16/03/08   3.   Cheney is coming here to swear & curse everyone out! 19:42  |  Wise Saba 16/03/08   4.   Lakshmi 20:14  |  Firefighter 16/03/08   5.   4.Firefighter,Iran & Syria are not thousands of miles away from 20:42  |  lakshmi 16/03/08   6.   Lakshmi 21:14  |  Firefighter 16/03/08   7.   Maybe he wants to take Barak duck 22:21  |  Aphemia 16/03/08   8.   Cheney`s legacy for Israel 23:18  |  Dan 16/03/08   9.   In order to be viable, a cover story needs 23:24  |  Mark Lincoln 16/03/08   10.   Black is white, War is peace 00:11  |  RAB 17/03/08   11.   He just wants to give everybody a hug. 01:14  |  Che Vive 17/03/08   12.   Diplomat Cheney is welcome..... 02:01  |  David James Vickery 17/03/08   13.   He just wants a war - Che Vive 04:00  |  Mark Lincoln 17/03/08   14.   To Firefighter from Redland #6 22:24  |  Persian Kitty 17/03/08

Today Online Rightists arrested for storming village of yeshiva terrorist Responses: 158 Next IAF chief: Ground operation needed to stop rocket attacks Responses: 118 Court case reveals how settlers illegally grab W. Bank lands Responses: 99 Facebook face-off: Settlers win right to list country as Israel, not Palestine Responses: 44 Editorial: U.S. pressure for peace is welcome pressure Responses: 54 Rosner's Domain From "Hussein" to "Murray" (WTR) Rosner's Mailbox: I used to believe that you just hated Hillary Jeremiah Wright: did Obama explain enough? If you marry them, you have a better chance of keeping them Poll: Is the "road map" still relevant? More Headlines 22:27 PA downgrades renewed talks to protest settlement construction 21:13 PM: No chance Israel will cede E. Jerusalem areas like Har Homa 21:27 Israel approves lawsuits against PA over suicide bombings 18:19 Facebook face-off: Settlers win right to list country as Israel, not Palestine 19:03 Police to beef up forces over Purim, fearing Hezbollah strike 22:37 Poll: Haniyeh more popular than Abbas after IDF raids on Gaza 19:00 'This post will self-destruct in 10 seconds' - Shin Bet blog goes live 22:01 Argentine Jews commemorate 1992 Israeli embassy bombing 22:40 MKs seek pardon for Omri Sharon 'to sit at father's bedside' 15:40 Olmert accompanies Merkel to Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial 19:08 Ex-diplomat: Syria talks could resume soon after U.S. elections 21:03 Jordanian Islamists: Merkel runs risk of igniting `enmity` of Arabs 18:41 Sephardic Chief Rabbi comes under fire over conversions 15:52 Tel Aviv stock exchange loses 9% of its value in 3 trading days 21:25 Arab MK to chief rabbis: Slam rabbinic calls to harm Arabs Previous Editions Select Day 16 mar 14 mar 13 mar 12 mar 11 mar 10 mar 09 mar 07 mar 06 mar 05 mar 04 mar 03 mar

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