Two key members of the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush plan to visit the Middle East later this week, the State Department said Monday. Elliot Abrams, the deputy national security adviser, and David Welch, the assistant secretary for Near Eastern Affairs, are in Morocco, department spokesman Richard Boucher said during a press briefing. They plan to visit Israel for several days to meet with Israeli and Palestinian officials, Boucher added. Responding to a question from the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), Boucher said Abrams and Welch may visit other Middle Eastern nations on their trip. But Boucher did not have any more details of the itinerary.
