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Bush Camp Cautious on Post-Arafat Support

(Boston Globe)Dan Ephron - Despite a flurry of hopeful signs since Arafat's death, the Bush administration is keeping a cautious distance from the emerging Palestinian leadership, saying that future political and economic support will depend on whether a new Palestinian president can rein in militant groups. A State Department official involved in the issue said negotiations on a final peace deal could take at least a year or two to begin in earnest, and maybe much longer. To earn renewed U.S. political and financial support for such a process, the official said, the new Palestinian president will need to take concrete steps to end terrorist attacks against Israel, reform Palestinian institutions, and root out corruption. But "if a government is elected that does not view the peaceful resolution of this conflict as their main priority, then there is going to be a limit on what we can do," the official said. The cautious sentiment from inside the State Department exposes the gap in expectations between the sides, with Palestinians hoping for a quick resumption of full peace talks in the months after the election. (Boston Globe)
2004-12-20 00:00:00
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