Washington, JULY 25, SPA -- President George W. Bush will meet with Jordan King Abdullah at the White House, where they will discuss, among other things, the administration’s new engagement with Israel and the Palestinians on a new way towards peace. The meeting comes in the wake of Bush s pledge of an influx of cash to bolster Palestinian moderates and a call on other nations to similarly prop up the presidency of Mahmoud Abbas in the face of challenges from Hamas. Jordan, with the closest regional relations to Israel, the United States and Abbas, has welcomed the initiative. In other news, the president will speak this afternoon in Charleston, South Carolina, a key departure point for military troops and equipment shipping off to Iraq. According to reports, the president will attempt to continue linking Iraq and al Qaeda. Bush will stress the importance of leaving American troops in Iraq to fight al Qaeda forces there, and will highlight some key developments that the White House will say points to progress in Iraq. According to the Associated Press, Bush “declassified information about al-Qaeda s operation for his speech. His goal is to show that al-Qaeda in Iraq is a core part of the overall terror network,” in an attempt to bolster his case for staying in Iraq. Bush will also likely highlight passages from the new National Intelligence Estimate (NIE), released last week, which states that al-Qaeda has regenerated and is now poised to strike again in the United States. --SPA www.spa.gov.sa/470258