Rice reinforces support for road map

Financial Times ^ | June 27, 2003 | Harvey Morris in Jerusalem

[yonif]

To the consternation of Israeli officials and the surprise of all but the most sceptical Palestinians, the signals from Washington appear to confirm that President George W. Bush really is determined to push through his "road map" to peace.

The arrival in the region at the weekend of Condoleezza Rice, the president's national security adviser, will reinforce the message he gave at the Aqaba summit this month that he regards the peace process as the "highest priority".

For once, Israel's skilful and well-informed corps of diplomats and negotiators appear to have been wrong-footed. They correctly predicted that, after the war in Iraq, Israel would come under pressure to renew the peace process. They seem to have miscalculated, however, in thinking that their solid relations with the Bush White House would help them water down the road map plan.

The apparent strength of Mr Bush's commitment has even surprised some US diplomats, who used to complain that their detailed reports on the deteriorating situation in the region never appeared to make it as far as the White House.

Some officials in the government of Ariel Sharon initially dismissed Mr Bush's re-engagement with the peace process as a short-term reward to Tony Blair, UK prime minister, for his support in the Iraq war.

Perceiving divisions within the administration, they counted on friends in the White House, including Ms Rice, to counter State Department pressure for a more proactive US role in pushing the peace process.

However, Colin Powell, secretary of state, last weekend assured the other leaders of the international quartet - the United Nations, European Union and Russia - that all branches of the administration were working in concert on advancing the president's Middle East vision. Moreover, he promised them Mr Bush was committed to the process for the "long haul".

On Thursday Ms Rice said Israel had offered Palestinians remarkable concessions at the Camp David summit in 2000 but that Yassir Arafat, the Palestinian leader, had chosen instead to launch the intifada.

But with the appointment of Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian prime minister, and the engagement of Arab states in the process, she said: "It is now time for Israel to take the opportunity before it."

Speaking at London's International Institute for Strategic Studies, Ms Rice stressed that Mr Bush believed it was in Israel's interest to achieve a two-state solution. Although she would not be drawn on condemnation of specific Israeli actions, such as assassinations of radical Palestinian militants, she said the president was "speaking the truth" to both sides.

Whether the US presidential election campaign will have an impact on Mr Bush's commitment has yet to be seen. However, countering the spin from Israeli officials that Israel's secret weapon is the personal relationship between Mr Bush and Mr Sharon, US officials suggest that the two men are not that close. Moreover, they stress that the president is genuinely impressed by Mr Abbas and Mohammed Dahlan, his security chief.

At Aqaba, Mr Bush appointed Mr Powell and Ms Rice as his principal contacts with the parties and also named John Wolf, a State Department veteran, as his envoy in the region.

Ms Rice handled most of the contacts with Dov Weisglass, Mr Sharon's chief of staff, in the run-up to publication of the road map. He assured the cabinet that Washington looked set to incorporate most of Israel's reservations into the peace plan. But when the document was officially presented on April 30 not a phrase of a draft first circulated last December had been changed.

Ephraim Halevy, Israel's national security adviser, had warned that the Bush administration was serious about promoting the plan. But the former Mossad chief's advice went unheeded. He quit last weekend.

Ms Rice is due to meet leaders of both sides during her visit. The Palestinians may announce an agreement of militant factions to abide by a ceasefire.

Progress is awaited on a transfer of Israeli security control in the Gaza Strip to the Palestinian Authority.

Underscoring the new US hands-on approach to the road map's progress, people familiar with the discussions say Mr Powell spent an hour-and-a-half last Sunday on Gaza maps to determine where Israeli forces may or may not remain once a withdrawal goes ahead.

[yonif]

Heavy-handed US pushing Israel down the disasterous and terrorist rewarding Road Map which is even worse then the Oslo Accords.

[lilylangtree]

Sad to see Bush, Rice and Powell pushing Israel on this road map to h**l. Ariel, stand firm for the Israel people. Don't go along with this islamic-originated path or the Israelis will live to regret it.

[Cicero]

Why does this not surprise me? Bush has the right instincts on Israel, IMHO, but he has repeatedly listened to the wrong advice, from Tony Blair to the State Department, maybe even Karl Rove. They have (wrongly) counseled him that he needs to do this to solidify political support and placate the media and the intellectual establishment. They couldn't be more wrong.

He will get no credit for this from the media, from the Arabs, or from the intellectuals. And he is frittering away all his gains. The longer this goes on, the more disastrous the results will be from every point of view.

[Norse]

I disagree Yonif. Both sides need to stop being aggressors, here. For example, Israel conducted that raid on Hamas just as they agreed to a truce. That doesn't help at all. If peace is going to come here, both sides need to throw aside their extremists, namely Hamas, Arafat, and Sharon.

[stars & stripes forever]

Heavy-handed US pushing Israel down the disasterous and terrorist rewarding Road Map which is even worse then the Oslo Accords.

There was an interesting segment on last night's 700 Club on the correlation between heavy-handed U.S. tactics to divide Israeli territory and disasterous weather in the U.S.

Could it be the wrath of God?

[LarryM]

If Bush keeps this up, I won't be voting for him. I don't vote for cowards and appeasers.

[adam_az]

Hamas has promised 10 "truces" in the last several years and has as of yet failed to honor one.

Are you criticizing Israel for paying attention and noticing that "ceasefire" is a tactical move by Hamas, and not peacemaking?

How many times should they be bitten by the fly before swatting it?

[adam_az]

No, it's just the usual idiotic 700 club money raising crap.

They support the good guys on this issue, but their motives are suspect - they believe that during the 2nd coming, all Jews will either be killed or convert to Christianity.

Don't think so....

[Norse]

How many of these truces have been broken by Israel, just as this one has?

[stars & stripes forever]

They support the good guys on this issue, but their motives are suspect - they believe that during the 2nd coming, all Jews will either be killed or convert to Christianity.

What do you think will happen during the 2nd coming?

[adam_az]

I think the first coming hasn't happened yet, and when (and if!) it does happen, there will be redemption and not a raincheck for another visit at some indeterminate date.

[adam_az]

Israel would have to agree to this truce before they could break it, and they did not agree to it - because the Arabs are calling for a Hudna, not a real truce!

Are you putting Israel and Hamas on equal credibility plains?

If so, I think we can end our conversation right here. If not, I'd appreciate you explaining better what you mean.

[yonif]

How many of these truces have been broken by Israel, just as this one has?

After reading both of your posts, let me ask you a question. Do you want the US to have a "truce" with Al Queda? Why or Why not?

[Norse]

No, I didn't fail to notice the extremists who kill innocent Israelis. They should be dealth with while at the same time making life for the Palestinian people as hopeful as possible by introducing real market reforms in both Israel and the "occupied" territories. Until that happens, there will continue to be bloodshed.

My concern was that even though they are terrorists, if Israel puts forth terms for a truce, and Hamas accepts the truce, then Israel should not break or jeapordize that truce.

There are grievances on both sides. This is 100% economic, like all war. Until this region brings hope to its inhabitants, hunting down terrorists will last forever, because new ones will always pop up.

[Norse]

Don't get me wrong, i'm certainly not putting Israel on Hamas on equal credibility plains. Far from it. I'm simply saying that if Hamas agreed to this truce, now is not the time for Israel to continue hunting down its members.

They can hunt and hunt and hunt, but they will continue hunting forever unless real economic reforms are introduced both in Israel and where the Palestinians live, because if this economic disaster is allowed to continue, new terrorists will continue to rise.

The answer here is not to fight, but to reform.