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Mideast Peace Talks Begin Amid Doubts on All Sides
(New York Times) Michael R. Gordon and Isabel Kershner - Middle East peace talks resumed Monday in Washington. The prevailing narrative among the pundits, including more than a few experienced Middle East hands, is that while the Israelis and Palestinians may have sent their negotiators to Washington to placate Secretary of State Kerry, neither side appears remotely prepared to make the hard calls needed to cement a lasting peace. "The existence of talks can have a calming effect while they continue, and if they continue for several months can get us through the UN General Assembly without bitter Israeli-Palestinian confrontations," said Elliott Abrams, a senior official on President George W. Bush's National Security Council.