White House nixes meetings in Middle East

The White House yesterday confirmed that it has opposed a meeting between President Bush and Israeli and Palestinian leaders next week in Egypt, and said the peace process can go forward even if Israel's prime minister is ousted from office.

Experts on the Middle East, meanwhile, predicted little to no progress on the peace process during Mr. Bush's trip to the region, and said that the Bush administration should expect little cooperation from Saudi Arabia on increasing oil production.

National Security Adviser Stephen J. Hadley told reporters that next week "did not seem the time for a big high-level, three-way event with the president and [Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas]."

"It just doesn't feel right as the best way to advance the negotiations," Mr. Hadley said.