Bush fears a backlash at home

President George Bush's advisers have distanced the White House from Colin Powell's difficult assignment in the Middle East as senior Republicans call for the Secretary of State to abandon his attempt to broker a ceasefire.

White House officials repeatedly stressed that while Mr Bush had approved the mission, he had granted "maximum flexibility" to Mr Powell to use his own judgement on how to proceed once he was in the region.

Some Republicans are urging that Mr Powell be recalled, it has emerged.

Administration officials conceded that a suicide bombing in Jerusalem on Friday and Yasser Arafat's delay in responding to it had made Mr Powell's mission vastly more difficult, but insisted Mr Bush would not be deterred by "daily setbacks" in foreign policy.

However, fears were growing that the attempt to mediate in the bloody conflict was serving only to undermine Mr Bush's authority in the region. Mr Powell, seen as a moderating influence in the Administration, has often served as
a lightning rod for conservative dissatisfaction.