Daily Star Editorial- 19 January 2007 
 
 
BEIRUT – U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice`s emphasis on the "road map" as a route to Middle East peace and the Quartet as a vehicle to get there betray a fundamental misunderstanding of how Palestinian-Israeli negotiations broke down and why they have remained in stasis. The "road map" envisions a series of preparatory steps and delays a final status agreement until the final stage. But all of the foundations for a workable peace pact have already been laid through decades of negotiations, including those that took place during the administration of her boss`s predecessor, Bill Clinton, who sought a deal until the very last weeks of his presidency. While Clinton`s effort established that an American president could summon the stamina for an exhaustive peace process, he too fell short of securing ironclad commitments from the Israelis and Palestinians.

The unfortunate fact of the matter is that in the absence of such an approach from the administration of President George W. Bush, peace will remain on the distant horizon and successive Palestinian and Israeli leaders will continue to restart interrupted talks at phase one. The only way to move forward is for the Americans to secure irrevocable commitments that would outlive any individual Palestinian or Israeli leader`s term in office.

Tellingly, an approach that yields concrete results is also the only way for Bush to gain the genuine and meaningful support of America`s main Arab allies -- Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia -- for his new strategy to stabilize Iraq. No Arab regime can responsibly put its shoulder to the wheel in Iraq for an America that will not earnestly do the same in Israel and Palestine. Far more important and urgent than a surge of troops in Baghdad, therefore, is an all-out effort to ensure that American diplomacy moves inexorably toward a full and fair peace and not just a process aimed at demonstrating a modicum of good will. If this card is played as flippantly as the "democratisation of the Middle East" was, the Bush administration will succeed only in making life more difficult -- and death more common -- for the tens of thousands of U.S. troops already in Iraq and those about to join them.

Trust in America has never been so low in this part of the world. Nonetheless, the staunchest of the region`s "hard men" have signalled a willingness to compromise: Even Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal has indicated that he will accept a Jewish state if and when there is a viable Palestinian one. The elusive prize of Middle East peace is therefore very much within America`s reach -- if it is willing to secure the right promises from both parties.

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* This article is distributed by the Common Ground News Service (CGNews)