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Wednesday, April 6, 2005

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  "There needs to be some coordination on what's being done," she said, "and I think there will be."

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, due to meet with President Bush at his Texas ranch on Monday, sent his chief of staff, Dov Weisglass, to help plan the agenda with Rice and Stephen Hadley, the national security adviser.

The talks, held Tuesday, will be followed by meetings Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres is due to hold later this week with Vice President Dick Cheney and other administration officials.

"Obviously, the disengagement is a huge historical opportunity, and we want it to succeed," Rice said.

She said the United States would help in reconstruction because "if the Palestinians are able to take over the Gaza and turn this into an area that is prosperous over the long term, that's going to be very much better for the whole peace process."

However, Rice did not respond to Peres' statement Tuesday in Jerusalem that Israel would ask the United States for money to help with the pullout.

"I don't know what's being suggested and so it is a little hard in the abstract to know," she said.

Peres did not say whether he spoke with the authority of Sharon. On Monday, Israel's housing minister, Isaac Herzog, said the withdrawal would cost Israel $1 billion. He did not say the administration's financial help would be solicited.

Also, Herzog said the Israeli government had not decided whether to dismantle the settlers' homes or turn them over to Palestinians.

"It is an open question," Rice said. "We just have to see what makes sense."

"Obviously, you want the housing to be fit for the needs and circumstances also of the inhabitants of Gaza, and it's not clear that there's a perfect match," she said.

In a wide-ranging interview, Rice also said:

_ The world may never know precise details about nuclear efforts in Iran and North Korea but must not "under-react" because of incomplete intelligence.

_ The United States will move cautiously in releasing terror suspects held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, because of the risk that they may do further harm.

_ The presence of U.S. troops in Iraq is not itself the cause of continuing violence. The notion that attackers are motivated only by anger at the United States "just isn't right."

_ The government of Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf has turned away from Islamic extremism.

_ Tighter control of the U.S. borders with Canada and Mexico is justified to "help you to prevent people who are trying to come in to hurt us."

Meanwhile, on Syria's pledge to withdraw all remaining troops and security forces from Lebanon, Rice said, "You always need to be on guard because words and deeds don't always match with the Syrians."

Rice made a special point of insisting that Syria withdraw any "undeclared" security forces that may be in Lebanon.

Asked whether Iranian agents were in Lebanon as well, Rice said, "We want all foreign influences out of Lebanon and I am sure there are multiple foreign influences." But she did not specifically confirm an Iranian presence.

Both Iran and Syria have supported the Lebanese group Hezbollah in its attacks on Israel. The State Department considers Hezbollah a terrorist organization.

Editor's note: