UNITED STATES: The scandal over abuse of Iraqi prisoners has put the White House on the defensive to such an extent that it may have helped the Middle East peace process. Conor O'Clery North America Editor reports from Washington
Yesterday US President George Bush appeared in a contrite mood when he met King Abdullah II of Jordan in the White House against a background of Arab outrage over pictures of abused Iraqi inmates.
Mr Bush made a significant concession to the Jordanian leader by promising to send a letter to the Palestinian prime minister outlining US support for a Palestinian state and for a negotiated settlement on contentious issues.
King Abdullah had called off a meeting with the US President on April 21st over a letter of support that Mr Bush gave Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon a few days earlier. The contents of the letter infuriated Arab leaders as it backed a Sharon plan that seemed to pre-empt the work of the international quartet to get 'road-map' negotiations under way.
The Israeli plan envisaged the withdrawl of settlements from Gaza and part of the West Bank, no right of return for Palestinian refugees, and the annexation of some West Bank land behind a new Israeli border.
Yesterday after much behind-the-scenes negotiations, Mr Bush promised the king that he would send a similar letter to the Palestinian prime minister outlining the benefits of a peaceful solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Mr Bush told a press conference with the king by his side that all issues between Israelis and Palestinians must be negotiated in a final settlement and promised that "the United States will not prejudice the outcome of those negotiations."
The Jordanian side had requested that Mr Bush put this in writing and make clear that the way was still open for compensation to be paid to Palestinians deprived of a home or land in a final settlement.
Reiterating his backing for a viable Palestinian state, Mr Bush made a further gesture, saying that a Palestinian democracy "didn't have to look like America's, it's got to be attuned to the culture of the Palestinian people."
He also voiced renewed support for the road map drawn up by the quartet of the US, the United Nations, the EU and Russia.
A statement after a meeting of the quartet at the UN on Tuesday, which was attended by US Secretary of State Colin Powell, practically reversed the policy set forth by Mr Bush and Mr Sharon.
King Abdullah said after the meeting yesterday that Israel must withdraw to the borders it held before the 1967 war and also emphasised that "all final status issues should be a matter for the parties to decide."
Much of the brief press conference in the Rose Garden was taken up with the furore over the pictures from Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.
After Mr Bush said he had told the Jordanian leader he was sorry for the humiliation of prisoners and their families, King Abdullah said: "We're all horrified by the images" of torture and abuse, but added that he was confident that American investigations would identify and punish those responsible.
The situation in the Middle East was the main subject of a phone call Bush had yesterday morning with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, a White House spokesman said.
Mr Mubarak commented after Mr Bush's concessions to Mr Sharon that Arabs hold a "hatred never equalled" to Americans.