Visit an attempt to balance recent US foreign policy
CAIRO: American Vice President Dick Cheney will embark on a tour of the Middle East next week which will include meetings with the leaders of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates as well as speaking with US troops in the region.
The six-day tour begins Tuesday and is understood to be at the behest of the Presidential office. The White House stated that Cheney would be discussing “key issues of mutual interest with Arab leaders.
Diaa Rashwan from Al Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies believes that Cheney’s visit is an attempt to balance recent US foreign policy in the region, and ascribed the visit as more related to the internal political mechanisms of the United States.
“This visit doesn’t reflect external US policies but internal ones. [House Senate Leader Nancy] Pelosi has recently visited Syria and the Democrats are taking a different approach to the region. Cheney’s visit to key US allies is an attempt to balance that, he said.
Additionally the visit is also to balance recent State Department meetings with Syria and Iran, according to Rashwan.
He said: “There are different wings in the administration, and this visit could be to balance out the State Department’s recent meetings with Syria and Iran.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is attending the International Compact for Iraq in Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt where she has met with Syrian and Iranian officials.
Cheney was last in the region in November for a meeting with Saudi King Abdullah to discuss matters in Iraq and Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
“Cheney is the one under attack in the US about Iraq, more so than President Bush, Rashwan said.
