(U.S. News)Mortimer B. Zuckerman - The great delusion in the West was that Arafat would lead the Palestinians to democracy and peace if only he were given more concessions. Instead, we ended up with neither security nor democracy. Now the Palestinians are to be guided, it appears, by some 10 feuding groups and their warlords who have about 40,000 guns (to say nothing of the criminal gangs that control swaths of the West Bank and Gaza). Washington should hold the Palestinians accountable. The fatal flaw of Oslo was that violations of Palestinian obligations provided the rationale not for rebuke but for more concessions. The U.S. should also resist the clamor from Europe to begin political negotiations before terrorist groups are dismantled. There must be no rush to push a new road map. The emerging Palestinian leadership must prove its will and ability to transform the nation. A democratic Palestine offers the only chance to become a peaceful neighbor to Israel instead of a terrorist entity.
2004-11-22 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive