(TIME) Charles Krauthammer - •For months conventional wisdom on the Middle East has been that 1) the Bush Administration has neglected the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and 2) as a result, things have gone from bad to worse. •A year after the Passover massacres of 2002 (seven suicide bombings in seven days), terrorism deaths are down more than 80%, Yasser Arafat is being edged aside, a new reformist Palestinian leadership has been approved, Palestinian finances are starting to become transparent, and negotiations between the parties are becoming possible once again - all because of the radical new policy adopted by President Bush and enunciated last June 24. •Bush refused to follow the old Clinton doctrine that had made Arafat the center of the universe (he was invited to the Clinton White House more than any other leader on the planet) and made talking an end in itself - even as the blood flowed. Arafat is not just the man who refused to make peace with Israel, he is the man who uses his power to make sure that no one else can make peace with Israel. •But the transition away from Arafat is incomplete, and Arafat is doing everything to undermine the new prime minister, portraying Abu Mazen as an American stooge and opposing the dismantling of the Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, which just last week took credit for a massacre at a seaside cafe in Tel Aviv. •The road map might produce a tactical cease-fire, but that would just provide an interval of safety for Palestinian terrorists to rearm, regroup, and prepare to fight later on. By rewarding the Palestinians before Arafat is gone and by demanding Israeli concessions while the violence continues, it belies the very premise of the June 24 policy, the only policy since Oslo that has produced real progress.
2003-05-06 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive