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Sharon Apologizes Over Dispute With U.S.
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of Israel apologized Saturday for what he called a misunderstanding caused by his warning that the United States risked appeasing Arab nations the way Europe appeased Adolf Hitler before World War II.
"Unfortunately, the metaphor in my words was not understood correctly, and I'm sorry about that," Mr. Sharon said in a brief telephone interview, referring to remarks he made on Thursday.
In offering his extraordinary statement of contrition, the prime minister evidently hoped to salve any wounds left by the harshest public exchange between Israel and the United States in decades. In the interview, he expressed regret five times in less than five minutes, capping three turbulent days of some of the strangest diplomacy conducted between the allies.
Mr. Sharon said he had spoken with Secretary of State Colin L. Powell three times on Friday and once Saturday. "It's behind us," he said of the dispute over his comments, which the White House on Friday called unacceptable. "It's completely behind us."
Since the Sept. 11 terror attacks on the United States, the Bush administration has stepped up its campaign for peace in the Middle East in hopes of coaxing Arab nations into a coalition against terrorism. That effort strained relations with Israel to the point that the dispute burst into the open on Thursday.
Mr. Sharon said Saturday night that the United States had not unfairly put pressure on Israel to resolve the conflict with the Palestinians, but he suggested that he had been concerned that such pressure was coming.
"Now, we have not been under pressure," he said. "What worried me was what might be." He promised "full support" for Mr. Bush's goal of "eradicating terror," a goal he described as courageous.
Mr. Sharon appeared to be reading several sentences that he had prepared to explain his remarks. On Thursday, he spoke in evident anger, also from a prepared text, but Saturday night he was mild. As he finished, he stressed again that he wished to convey his "sorrow," and then responded to a few questions.
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