Colin Powell receives criticism in Morocco

CASABLANCA, Morocco — Arab impatience with U.S. efforts to defuse the Middle East conflict burst into full view Monday when Morocco's King Mohammed VI, a close U.S. ally, greeted Secretary of State Colin L. Powell on the first leg of his peace mission by pointedly asking why he was not heading to Jerusalem sooner.

Even as Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of Israel pressed his invasion of West Bank cities, Powell planned to make at least five stops for discussions with Arab and European leaders before arriving in Jerusalem late this week. The Bush administration is seeking to enlist Arab allies in the peace effort, hoping they can help put pressure on Yasser Arafat, the Palestinian leader, to move against militant groups.

But Powell's itinerary has fueled Arab suspicion that the United States continues to give Israel wide latitude to wage its military offensive. That frustration surfaced in Mohammed's remarks, which came as television cameras began to film the opening of his meeting with Powell.

"Don't you think it would be more important to go to Jerusalem first?" Mohammed asked just after Powell and his delegation arrived at the king's palace in Agadir, in southern Morocco.

Powell told the king the administration had considered various options for his trip, deciding it made sense to lay the foundation for his Jerusalem stop by first coordinating with other allied governments.

The awkward reception in Agadir could be the first of several difficult encounters awaiting Powell and comes as Arab anger over the Israeli offensive is spurring anti-American sentiment across the region.

On the eve of Powell's arrival in Morocco, at least half a million people took to the streets of the capital, Rabat, to protest Israel's military operations and U.S. backing for the Sharon government. That demonstration was the first pro-Palestinian rally that authorities have allowed since the latest round of violence erupted in late 2000 and was described by Moroccan authorities as one of the largest protests in the kingdom's history.

Similar demonstrations have swept the Arab world in recent days from Egypt, a crucial U.S. ally and keystone of the Middle East peace process, to Bahrain, home of the Navy's 5th Fleet.

Arab newspapers and television, meanwhile, have reflected this impatience with commentary expressing increasing demands that Arab leaders take concrete action to oppose Israel.

President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt has already reduced government contacts with Israel. Both he and Jordan's King Abdullah have been resisting public demands that they sever diplomatic ties with Israel, arguing that it is important to maintain those channels on behalf of the Palestinians.

Over the weekend, Arab League foreign ministers meeting in Cairo described the Palestinian uprising as "expected and necessary," rebuffing President Bush's appeal for leaders in the region to condemn violent resistance to Israel. And analysts in Egypt and Jordan said popular opinion is now so agitated that leaders in those countries have limited ability to press Arafat at the administration's behest.

Powell is scheduled to visit Mubarak and Jordan's Abdullah, and will also stop for two nights in Madrid for talks with Russia's foreign minister, Igor Ivanov, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan and European Union leaders before heading to Jerusalem.