It should be clear that the "roadmap" only shows the route to hell.

Southerner

Colin Powell must be beyond embarrassment. His unrealistic efforts to find "diplomatic" solutions that become building blocks for terrorists continually backfire. His latest piece of work is brazenly undone at the moment of its announcement. Powell was reduced this morning to the role of the whining ineffective parent pleading with his reprobate children to "stop that" - "something must be done". Has he no shame at all?

Thanks Colin, you've created another doomed edifice that the world community will claim must be given a chance to succeed while employing the same terror tactics and waging the same genocidal war against Israel and Jews that has been going on for fifty years.
All Powell has done is recycled Arafat, with a more dangerous twist that the USA is clearly in the Palistinian Arab's crosshairs. Thanks Colin, thanks for whizzing away the leverage we gained with US lives in Iraq.

Guys, also check out:

Army intelligence: Abu Mazen unable to halt terror

[Link: www.haaretz.com...]

Tel Aviv suicide bomber and accomplice were British citizens (Haaretz)

Check out the latest issue of Commentary for another good piece from Joshua Muravchik. It's called "Postcards from the 'New Europe'". Good stuff.

Breaking News ! Breaking News !

Tel Aviv suicide bomber was British citizen

By Roni Singer and Haim Shadmi, Haaretz Correspondents, Haaretz Service and Agencies



The man who carried out the suicide bombing late Tuesday night at a Tel Aviv beachfront pub was a British citizen, as was an additional terrorist who managed to flee when his explosive device did not detonate.

The British man who managed to escape, after scuffling with bystanders at the pub, was named as Omar Khan Shariff. The police and Shin Bet are requesting the public's help in locating him.

Three people were killed and 35 wounded, one critically and five seriously, when a suicide bomber blew himself up at around 1 A.M. Tuesday night at a beachfront pub on Herbert Samuel Street in Tel Aviv.
[Link: www.haaretzdaily.com...]

The roadmap is doomed at this point because the Palestinians are bent on national suicide. I've expressed some concerns about the Israeli government and Likudniks, but the behavior and actions of the Palestinian "government" and people makes all such talk irrelevant, until or unless they return from beyond the pale, there is no chance, and should be no chance, for "peace."

I don't agree with the retrospective trashing of the Oslo process though. Remember, it began after Gulf War I when Arafat and followers supported Saddam Hussein into humiliation. We (incorrectly as it turns out) thought the Palestinians had finally been shocked into being reasonable.

There were two things that derailed Oslo, the obvious one being the rise of Hamas and Islamic Jihad. The second was the assassination of Rabin by a right wing nut and the ascension of Netanyahu, who can best be described as the Israeli Newt Gingrich, except without Newt's brains, to the Prime Minister's position. He spent three years undercutting the Oslo process from the Israeli side.

Maybe I'm a hopeless optimist, but perhaps its possible that Arafat wouldn't have joined Hamas and Islamic Jihad if the Oslo process had progressed under Rabin after 1995 and we might have ended up in a quite different position today. Or maybe not. It's a bunch of maybes, but I would be skeptical of anyone like Muravchik who trashes the Oslo process.

The Great White Whale of Moral Equivalence breaches and blows:

[Robert] Satloff faults the plan's "sham, even indecent, parallelism between Palestinian and Israeli behavior." Not only does it call on each side, in virtually identical language, to "cease violence" against the other, as if acts of terror and counterterror are commensurable. It also balances a demand that "official Palestinian institutions end incitement against Israel" with one that "official Israeli institutions end incitement against Palestinians."

Okay, who is the author of this goddamn draft? What official Israeli institution is inciting --- inciting who? --- against Palestinians?

Frankly, I don't believe that it is the intention of the US to foster a negotiated peace between Israel and the Palestinians. This proposal started before September 11, and was largely a continuation of Oslo with window dressing. OK, so we owe Tony Blair, and won't repudiate the roadmap. We also won't pressure Israel and won't force the issue. Instead, we'll let it die on the vine.

For that is precisely what I believe we are intending to happen to the Palestinians. By cutting out Iraq, and later Iran, Syria and Saudi Arabia, from financing the Palestinian terrorists, we will be cutting the stem of Palestinian terrorism and allowing it to die on the vine. When that happens, some deal or deals will be reached between Israel and Jordan and Israel and Egypt, and real peace will finally return to that part of the world. But it won't happen until the Palestinians are unable to continue on their current path, and the Israelis are too moral to simply uproot the Palestinians and send them across the borders.

Israel is smaller than New Jersey and has a little more than half as many inhabitants as the city of Cairo by itself.

A more realistic undertaking, with all due respect, would be a map to Disney World. On the way we could stop by the newest in make belive, "Kofi's Haunted House of Mirrors On the Hudson". Or if we wanted to appear literary we could refer to this plan as "Dante's Map To the Netherworld".

RE: ROADMAP and
ARTICLE: Army intelligence: Abu Mazen unable to halt terror
By Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondent

Abbas doesn't have any real power.
I watched his speech on CSPAN last night. Afterwards, they played 15 min's of Palestinian English News and then 15 min's of Israeli Broadcasting Authority News in English. The PLO was like a cheap knockoff of Soviet run 1984 news. It was so repetitive in its cabal language and message and showing a smiling Arafat doing this and that.... it was right out of 1984....

Arafat is still totally in control, which Ashwari begrudgingly said in not so many words... Abbas is certainly not going to clash with Hamas or Jihad when he can't even attain real power. The whole thing was a miniscule baby step to even get a PM appointed. NO despot appoints a VP or PM because then they are just asking to get bumped off or have their power challenged.

Arafat got everything he wanted: He got almost everyone eliminated from Abbas's original cabinet and Abbas only received a tiny portion of the Security Forces to control.....

YET, ARFAT STILL LOOKED MORTALLY ANGRY THAT HE EVEN HAD TO BUDGE THAT FOR THE AMERICANS!! THE ANGER AND MORBIDITY ON HIS FACE WHEN ABBAS SPOKE AND HE WAS RIGHT NEXT to him was so evident. If this guy is not killed or taken out its business as usual. In the end Bush is going to sell them out just like his father. The only difference is he'll be a LITTLE tougher on the Syrians to minorly curb some backing of the terror groups. But nothing's going to really change, WE ALL KNOW THAT.

Anyone have the link to the article that talks about the ISM as an archist group and members who say they are against a palestinian state?

Violence Threatens Zombie - Teenager Peace Process

Danny Rubinstein, one of the most pro-Palestinian of Israeli journalists, has a fascinating Q & A on the peace process.

Like Tom Friedman, it's not hard to disagree with Rubenstein, but he has lived among the Arabs, and has spoken extensively with many of the leaders, so he has earned the right to his opinions and they are worth considering.

Consider these comments:

In a final peace treaty with the Palestinians, will the PA agree to recognize Israel as a "Jewish" state?
Alexander
Cross River, U.S.A.

Danny Rubinstein:
They should do this, because the only meaning of the principle of "two states for two peoples," is that Israel will be the state of the Jews. If they don't agree to do this, then there will not be a solution to the conflict.

. . .

What are the chances that Abu Mazen and his new government will give up on the right of return?
Drew Rothman
San Francisco, U.S.A.

Danny Rubinstein:
On the ideological level there is no chance. On the practical level, they will have to, otherwise there is no chance of reaching an agreement with Israel. The reason is that the places they want to return to are inhabited, and the meaning of any attempt to return is the displacement of the Jews living in these areas. (A similar question was asked by Erwin Rosen in Los Angeles; Numan Samara in Anaheim, California)

I think that what Rubinstein is saying is that the Abu Mazen government is ideologically opposed to peaceful co-existence with a Zionist Palestinian state.

Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss.

OT wtf?
[Link: www.arabnews.com...]
Is this a rational thougt?

#7 Gordon sez: Maybe I'm a hopeless optimist . . .

OTOH, maybe you are a hopeless fool. Netanyahu did not derail Oslo. Netanyahu recognized that the Emperor had no clothes, and took actions (like opening the archaeological tunnel) that demonstrated that Arafat's regime was indoctrinating the Palestinian Arab populace for war, not peace.

Unfortunately, Israel's Labor Party worked hard to paint Netanyahu as the problem, and destroyed his effectiveness with the Clinton Administration, which thought that it could work with Arafat and worked to undercut and ultimately depose Netanyahu. Only years later did Clintonistas like Dennis Ross acknowledge that the core reason for the failure of Oslo had been US and Israeli willingness to overlook Palestinian incitement and noncompliance throughout the '90s.

Netanyahu had the correct diagnosis, but he could not formulate an effective response so long as the Israeli left was siding with Arafat.

Israel's greatest problem prior to the election of Sharon was the internal split between left and right, which prevented it from dealing with the Palestinians in a unified manner. The sooner Labor joins a new unity government, the better, because hard times lie ahead, and a repetition of the Netanyahu years would be dangerous.

Incidentally, here's the Road Map.

el Barto (#16)

I'm floored! Refreshing to see, thanks for the link.

Hi Gordon #7,

Please read about the Treaty of Hudaybiya, invoked by Arafat on day one of Oslo and then come back and tell us about how genuine the Oslo 'peace' process was.

#16,In the context of the total package of the days edition is it wise to look for rationality in schizophrenia? Of more interest is the story of the release of 5000 criminals. Is King Fahd near death or is it his birthday? Or, is it a matter of public housing coming available at Eskan Village. Reading the Arab News is like reading pigs entrails to determine the probable course of events in the magic Kingdom.

Dave - Here's the story.

No 2 and others --

Why blame it all on Colin Powell?
He is not the boss -- George Bush is the boss.

Do you really suppose that Powell is saying and doing things that his boss does not really want?

The roadmap is Bush -- forcing it on Israel is Bush -- the consequences are due to Bush --

Colin Powell is window-dressing. He is not the one in power.

Is it really impossible for the Busholators to admit it to themselves?

It is time for Israel to stop screwing around with these terrorists. It needs to launch a full scale war and take out the PLO, the PA, Hamas and Hezbollah. But first it needs to take care of Syria. It is pointless to battle these terrorists piecemeal while the terror assembly line remains untouched in Syria.
If it was right for us to do a regime change in Iraq (and it was) it is certianly right for Israel to do a regime change in Syria. Syria is vastly more dangerous to Israel than Iraq was to us.
Colin Powell and George Bush will scream their heads off because Israel is tearing up the "roadmap" and derailing the "Peace Process", but in the end Israel will be doing themselves and us an immense good.

The whole purpose of all the peace deals is so Israel and the Palestinians are back to the situation they were in in 1967, just before the Six-Day War.

However, the goal is not to reverse the effects of the war, but to re-do it, and this time, Israel is to be prevented by the UN from launching a spoiling attack.

The Arabs know just how close they were to successfully wiping Israel off the face of the planet in 1967, and they would have succeeded if only Israel hadn't attacked first and destroyed their air support before the Egyptians could destroy Israel's.

They want to try again, only without Israel being allowed to fight back. Any peace process that doesn't result in this will not be allowed to succeed.

#s 23&24. I have faith in Bush's (and his advisors) ability to see that the Palis will destroy their chances once more, and this time the traffic light will turn to green. We shall see how this fits into the larger scheme of things in rather short order judging from the press of events. You both make good points.

#25. If you owned a supermarket you would starve yourself to death with that kind of reasoning.

#23 clio,

I am not convinced that Powell is following orders -- he really believes that this nonsense can work. He, and his fossilized State Department have been and continue to pursue a foreign policy largely based on the appeasement and coddling of the Arabs whenever they can. It's only when Rummy or GWB grab him by his collar and force him back on plan that Powell follows orders.

But, Bush may well prove to be accountable. So far he has not put his personal weight behind this new PA terror thug. Whenever GWB looks like he is ready to appease, I've been quick to criticize it here. I'm hoping that GWB will pull the plug on the whole preposterous notion that a foundation of Arab-Israel peace can be built on the foundations of unrelenting Palestinian terror and war.

My problem with the road map

From the Road Map, via US Department of State website:

"As comprehensive security performance moves forward, IDF withdraws progressively from areas occupied since September 28, 2000 and the two sides restore the status quo that existed prior to September 28, 2000."

Problem is the word "as" - no more specific tie in of specific Pal security steps to specific withdrawls - leaves to much room for fudging, and pressure to withdraw before significant security steps taken. Relies on quartet (IIUC) to determine this - which becomes problematic if (as is quite possible) quartet members disagree.

Besides, as Debka reported earlier this week, on the eve of Abu Mazen's confirmation as Prime Minister, Arafat swore and reaffirmed his intentions to support terrorism and kill the Jews and also reaffirmed his hatred of the US. With that kind of devotion, how could any peace plan succeed, least of all a warmed over Oslo Accords?

Liberalhawk #29:

I agree with you.

On the other hand, the Road Map is on the State Department's website, not the White House's. At the White House, one finds President Bush's statement, which calls the "roadmap" a "starting point" and a "framwork for progress" based on the "principles and objectives" of Bush's June 24, 2002 statement. The centerpiece of the June 24 statement was genuine security cooperation and action against the terrorist organizations operating in Palestine.

The roadmap itself states that it is "performance-based," and Bush's statement stresses that "The pace of progress will depend strictly on the performance of the parties."

Here is another key portion of the roadmap:

In the second phase, efforts are focused on the option of creating an independent Palestinian state with provisional borders and attributes of sovereignty, based on the new constitution, as a way station to a permanent status settlement. As has been noted, this goal can be achieved when the Palestinian people have a leadership acting decisively against terror, willing and able to build a practicing democracy based on tolerance and liberty. With such a leadership, reformed civil institutions and security structures, the Palestinians will have the active support of the Quartet and the broader international community in establishing an independent, viable, state.

Progress into Phase II will be based upon the consensus judgment of the Quartet of whether conditions are appropriate to proceed, taking into account performance of both parties.

I read this to mean that the EU, the UN, and Russia have given the United States veto power over the establishment of even a provisional Palestinian government that condones terror and operates a Shari'a state.

re: 8 Glen Wishard

The Great White Whale of Moral Equivalence breaches and blows

LOL! Beautiful. Classic. Wonderful visual image.

31 good points

I present the following for everyones thought (from Israel Insider)

""Iran is trying to ignite the flames of terror in order to make it difficult for Abu Mazen to take up his new position," Shin Bet security agency director Avi Dichter told the government at its weekly meeting on Sunday, Yediot Aharonot reported. Dichter said Iran had pressured the terror organizations to perpetrate attacks and not to agree to Abu Mazen's request for a cessation of attacks against Israel. "

Don't know if this has been covered, but the NYT is reporting that Fleischer said Abu Amas will be visiting the president in the White House..

This deserves its own entry on LGF. If that happens, I will be really shocked at how the president handled this.

Liberalhawk, your arugment seems to hinge on the fact that Israeli officials have infallable judgement. Because an Israeli believes it, it must be in good faith.

Studsup, clio;

Colin Powell will be a good soldier and fall on his diplomatic sword as often as it takes to back Arafat and the rest of the rejectionists into a corner that they cannot back out of.

When dealing with dictator Arafat and his appointed "government", this is unfortunately the only effective option remaining:

Peace Through Superior Firepower
[Link: www.a-10.org...]

Make the penalty for terrorism so high, that the notion of destroying Israel and its people is finally cast aside, and negotiations to live in peace can begin.

Sharon should begin by destroying all of Arafat's government-run television stations and newspapers. Arafat's daily incitement of his population is an act of war.

With Arafat's incitement tools destroyed, Israel can broadcast 'normal' media to Arafat's Death Cult followers. After a year or two, with Arafat's daily incitement to violence removed, perhaps the Death Cult followers will revert back into humans.
 

Everytime I hear this term "roadmap", I keep hearing that old Talking Heads song playing in the background, "Road To Nowhere"...

WELL WE KNOW WHERE WE'RE GOIN'
BUT WE DON'T KNOW WHERE WE'VE BEEN
AND WE KNOW WHAT WE'RE KNOWIN'
BUT WE CAN'T SAY WHAT WE'VE SEEN
AND WE'RE NOT LITTLE CHILDREN
AND WE KNOW WHAT WE WANT
AND THE FUTURE IS CERTAIN
GIVE US TIME TO WORK IT OUT

We're on a road to nowhere
Come on inside
Takin' that ride to nowhere
We'll take that ride

...

There's a city in my mind
Come along and take that ride
and it's all right, baby, it's all right

And it's very far away
But it's growing day by day
And it's all right, baby, it's all right

They can tell you what to do
But they'll make a fool of you
And it's all right, baby, it's all right

We're on a road to nowhere

Israel and her supporters (In which I include myself) should not be too concerned about this road map. The US will just go through the motions of trying to implement this latest road map to "peace". We will do just enough to give Tony Blair some cover at home and repay him for being loyal in sending about a quarter of the British Army (around 40,000) to Iraq. What the EU, Russia and the UN think or want does not concern us.
Why am I so sure of this? Simple the only road map that concerns Bush Jr & Co. is the one that leads to his re-election 18 months from now. W does not intend to repeat his father's mistakes, one of which was to piss off the American Jewish Community by coming down hard on Israel after the first Gulf War. This resulted not only in a heavy turn out by Jewish voters for the Democrats, it resulted in big contributions from Jewish donors. This greatly helped Clinton and the democrats to have all the money they needed to run a suceesful campaign. Bush Jr or his "brain" Karl Rove is determined to prevent 1992 from reoccurring. Hence no pressure on Israel to conceed anything to the Palestinians. With US popular support for Israel higher then it has been for least a decade, it would be unpopular to pressure Israel on the behalf of the Palestinians since most Amercians regard them and the other Arabs as the enemy. The only good [bigoted word] er Arab is a dead one can sum up what most Americans think on this subject. If Bush Jr has any doubts on this just talking to some of his fellow Texans should take care of them.

Colin Powell must be beyond embarrassment. His unrealistic efforts to find "diplomatic" solutions that become building blocks for terrorists continually backfire.

Why do you attack Colin Powell like this? You think trying to resolve this diplomatically is a waste of time? Hello? Nothing has worked for so many years, and this problem is still present. I say give it a try, if you don't like the roadmap, what do you suggest?

The U.S. is already paying too much because of this issue, which in the long run is not really our problem, was not created by us, and shouldn't affect us. If we don't make steps like proposing this roadmap, what do you suggest the US do? Nuke and exterminate all Palestinians?

I'm all for military options when they can achive something (Iraq, Afghanistan, and other future operations) but the US does not have a military option to resolve this issue.

#39 ElCapitanAmerica

The U.S. is already paying too much because of this issue, which in the long run is not really our problem, was not created by us, and shouldn't affect us.

Refresh my memory: the carrier group and the MAU that evacuated Arafat and the PLO leadership from Lebanon... was it French?

Caton;

So basically you are saying this whole Israeli / Palestinian issue was mainly or significantly created by the US? That's news to me.

I don't think so.

On an unrelated note, Joshua Muravchik's excellent "Heaven on Eatrth: The Rise and Fall of Socialism" is required reading for anyone who wants to get a handle on that largely evil doctrine.

In particular, it sheds small but invaluable light on the origins and nature of socialist anti-Semitism, which you can be sure informs the modern day Leftist anti-Israel position.

ElCapitanAmerica #39,

You think trying to resolve this diplomatically is a waste of time? Hello? Nothing has worked for so many years, and this problem is still present. I say give it a try, if you don't like the roadmap, what do you suggest?

Diplomatic solutions have been tried many times. All have been beached on the rocks of Arab rejectionism. That still hasn't changed.

The only way that'll change is if they're militarily defeated and not rescued at the last minute by the US - that's the one thing that hasn't been tried.

The U.S. is already paying too much because of this issue, which in the long run is not really our problem, was not created by us, and shouldn't affect us.

I suppose you would like to explain that to Leon Klinghoffer. Or I suppose you have no issues with the open alliance between these folks and Saddam.

If we don't make steps like proposing this roadmap, what do you suggest the US do?

The very least we could do is try not to do any harm, i.e. do nothing. The most we could do is do something positive, like saying to Arafat that he has 48 hours to hand over every terrorist who has American blood on his hands.

I'm all for military options when they can achive something (Iraq, Afghanistan, and other future operations) but the US does not have a military option to resolve this issue.

Sure we do. I don't think we should exercise it either. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't allow others to exercise theirs.

#41 ElCapitanAmerica

So basically you are saying this whole Israeli / Palestinian issue was mainly or significantly created by the US? That's news to me.

Nope. I am saying that the whole issue was carefully left to boil for 55 years by the whole international community, who reigned in Israel each time Israel tried to solve the problem once and for all. And paid for the fire to be kept at the right level, through the UNRWA funding, for example.

The U.S. being the only country with leverage over Israel, it was the country who stopped Israel in 1948, 1956, 1967, 1973 and 1982 -- on behalf of the U.N. and of the international community. It is also the first contributor to the UNRWA.

Like it or not, this issue was not created by Israel. It was created by the Arab League and the U.N., with passive acknowledgement by the U.S. To deny any U.S. responsability today is, to say the least, not historically accurate.

Make the price of terrorism so high...? What the hell do you think the (failed) Israeli policy has been been for last 54 years. You've killed them at a rate of 40 per week since the start of the second intifada. Oh, I know, they're just mentally deficient, subhuman [bigoted word]s.

The only way that'll change is if they're militarily defeated and not rescued at the last minute by the US - that's the one thing that hasn't been tried.

They have already been militarely defeated. What are you talking about? This is a culture filled with hatred and a fanatical belief in blowing yourself up. There's nothing to be done here militarely expect for total anhilation of the Palestinians. That's not going to work.

You think that if killing Arafat and his goons would work, Bush woudln't have already done it?

Let's be realistic here.

Both sides need to shut up and listen to the big kid on the block the US and do as we say. They have proven incompetent to achive anything, so it's up to us to clean up other's peoples mess once again. We have to do that, but we don't have to like it. But to hear people demonize Collin Powell for daring to do his job, is absurd.

I suppose you would like to explain that to Leon Klinghoffer. Or I suppose you have no issues with the open alliance between these folks and Saddam.

1) We got the main bastard, so hopefully Mr. Klinghoffer now knows that justice will be done. Remember, Isreal can't touch this guy, we can.

2) Of course I do, where did I say I did not. Saddam's not an issue, we took care of him. That was doable militarely, the Isreal/Palestianian thing is not.

Sure we do. I don't think we should exercise it either. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't allow others to exercise theirs.

We're being invited to solve this $@$%, so I think we have all the right to tell either side what to do or not do. I don't care if this sounds arrogant, but that's how it is. If we're to fix this mess called the Middle East, then people are going to have to listen to us, allies or non-allies.

El Capitan,

First, abandon the Roadmap for the moment -- don't even pay it lip service.
Let Israel fight and win it's war on the terrorists.
Keep Syria and other Arab Nations out of the fight.
When Syria screws up go in and effect a regime change there, crush Hezbollah and liberate Lebanon.
Refuse to deal with Arafat and the PA.
When the terror infrastructure is defeated to the point where organized resistance is eliminated, then form and deal with Pali leaders that want to build a decent life for their people.
Only then can there be a roadmap that leads to peace. That roadmap envisions a Palestinian State that recognizes Israel and begins promptly to build civil infrastructure that gives Palis a life worth living.

All Powell is doing is running the second day of "Ground Hog's Day".

#45 Bushwacker

You've killed them at a rate of 40 per week since the start of the second intifada. Oh, I know, they're just mentally deficient, subhuman [bigoted word]s.

I see you are here for rational discussion. With a statement like this your show your moral superiority.
BTW, do you know your handle was from a baseball bat after DS-1? You appear as intelligent as that bat.

I have read this whole thread, now, and not once has anyone else pointed out what to me is a very obvious fact....ready?

THERE ARE NO PALESTINIAN PEOPLE.

There never were. They are displaced (by their Arab brethren) Arabians. Egyptians. Syrians. Jordanians. Whatever.

What we have here are squatters, trying to take over lands they were unable to conquer in warfare, via the U.N. and public opinion around the world.

Off Arrafat and his minions, and tell the Arab world, very politely, to go to hell. Problem solved.

Road Map, my anus.

#37 Clutch—

I'm a Who fan myself.

I'll tip my hat to the new Constitution.
Take a bow for the new revolution.
Smile and grin at the change all around.
Pick up my guitar and pray.
Just like yesterday.
And I'll get on my knees and pray . . . .
We don't get fooled again!

You know how that song ends—

Meet the new boss!
The same as the old boss!

So is fearless Internaut Townshend really off the hook now? And should he be?

The roadmap itself states that it is "performance-based," and Bush's statement stresses that "The pace of progress will depend strictly on the performance of the parties."...

... I read this to mean that the EU, the UN, and Russia have given the United States veto power over the establishment of even a provisional Palestinian government that condones terror and operates a Shari'a state.

I read it that way as well, however it is not manifestly clear that the US will have a veto in the Quartet. Moreover, there appears to be a lot of debate about whether the roadmap will, in practice, be performance-based.

Ultimately, the success or failure of the plan comes down to the courage and integrity of one man: George Bush. If GWB fails to hold the Pals to their commitments, particularly to disarm the terrorist groups, there is no amount of Quartet strong-arming that will force Israel to make concessions on their end. Even the UK Foreign Office website clearly states that they recognize Israel's right to defend itself.

And in my view, this is the last chance cafe for the Pals before Israel considers more far-reaching action to end terrorism.

And on a hopeful note, there is this statement from GWB yesterday:

"The road map represents a starting point toward achieving the vision of two states, a secure State of Israel and a viable, peaceful democratic Palestine, that I set out on June 24, 2002," Bush said in a statement released by the White House. "It is a framework for progress towards lasting peace and security in the Middle East. Implementing the road map will depend upon the good faith efforts and contributions of both sides. The pace of progress will depend strictly on the performance of the parties".

Sorry Ben, those are one in the same statement from GWB.

Me bad.

#55

You're right, all does depend on Bush. But I don't see him being particularly deferential to EU, UN, and RUS after the diplomatic debacle in Iraq. I am optimistic about Bush.

I also think that the Abu Mazen government is no more likely to take the necessary measures than was Saddam Hussein's. The big question—what does the US do then? What is the alternative to ignoring the noncompliance?

I do not know.

What is really needed is BOTH a steadfast Bush and a unity government within Israel. It is the R-L split within Israel that prevents the Israeli left from working CONSTRUCTIVELY with the Palestinian peace camp (such as it is). If Peace Now were to realize that its adversary is Palestinian irredentism, not the Likud, great things could happen. But I am not holding my breath.