The United States has been a surprisingly ineffectual Middle East peacemaker. Clinton’s overenthusiasm and Bush’s lack of interest caused us to lose our credibility with both Israel and Palestine.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s recent meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert failed to revive the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. It should be unsurprising.
The way forward is to concentrate on solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which, because the many problems of the region are so interlinked, can create, in turn, momentum for dealing with the other regional disputes that feed it.
Arafat's death opened a real window for peace--but it won't stay open for long.
Arafat's Palestinian nationalism denied the legitimacy of any Israeli state. His successors must shed this straightjacket if they want a state of their own.
To succeed, the roadmap to peace will need many things, not least of which is Israeli and Palestinian participation in it.
The "near miss" at Taba is being widely promoted as the natural starting point for future Israeli-Palestinian diplomacy. The only problem, is there was no "near miss."
Sinking into poverty amid its natural riches, Vladivostok is almost totally controlled by organized crime.
American civil-military relations will remain vexed for some time.
In the wake of the Hebron agreement, the imperative for Israel (and the United States) has been to formulate a coherent strategy for the next phase.