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Washington Watch
Bush won't get much help in Iraq unless he earns it in Palestine
 Daily Star Editorial | date: 2007-01-25BEIRUT - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's emphasis on the "road map" as a route to Middle East peace and the Quartet as a vehicle to get there betray a fundamental misunderstanding of how Palestinian-Israeli negotiations broke down and why they have remained in stasis. The "road map" envisions a series of preparatory steps and delays a final status agreement until the final stage. But all of the foundations for a workable peace pact have already been laid through decades of negotiations, including those that took place during the administration of her boss's predecessor, Bill Clinton, who sought a deal until the very last weeks of his presidency. While Clinton's effort established that an American president could summon the stamina for an exhaustive peace process, he too fell short of securing ironclad commitments from the Israelis and Palestinians. |
Ellison and the Qur'an: "a great American story"
 James J. Zogby, founder and president of the Arab American Institute (AAI), describes the debate over Keith Ellison, the first Muslim American elected to Congress, swearing his oath of office on the Qur'an. Explaining the open process by which all elected Congressmen are sworn in, he argues that this act, and indirectly the surrounding debate, in fact demonstrate the beauty of the United States and should be celebrated. |
Bush's last chance
 Commenting on the Baker-Hamilton Report, Shlomo Ben-Ami writes, "The report's recommendation for an international conference in the style of the Madrid peace conference is not only a timely indication of the linkage between the Israeli-Arab conflict and the region's other troubles; it is also a long overdue reminder that bilateral negotiations between the parties cannot produce an agreement. That realisation prompted the all-Arab Peace Initiative of 2002, which established the conditions for an Israeli-Arab comprehensive settlement." |
Emphatically stating the obvious on Iraq
 David Ignatius, a regular Washington, D.C.-based contributor to the Daily Star, analyses the findings and recommendations in the bipartisan Iraq Study Group's report. Acknowledging that the real national security threat to America is the "sense in the rest of the world that Iraq symbolises America's fatal new combination of arrogance and incompetence", he highlights how this report can help to turn this around. |
This year, Arabs express pessimism
| James J. Zogby, founder and president of the Arab American Institute (AAI), compares poll results of the mood in Arab countries. He finds that there is a prevailing sense of pessimism across the region that is distinctly different from last year, and, based on his survey findings, examines some of the reasons behind it. |
U.S. - key to solving Palestinian-Israeli conflict
 "Bush has everything to gain by championing Palestinian-Israeli peace," writes Saliba Sarsar. "Palestinian statehood will remove the greatest single source of anti-American sentiment throughout the Arab and Muslim worlds, enhance the security of all states in the Middle East by establishing defined borders for Israel, establish a democratic model for the rest of the Arab world to emulate, and open up substantial markets in the Middle East and North Africa to greater opportunities for economic cooperation." |
Damascus is Ready to Talk. Are We?
In a recent interview with John Simpson of the BBC, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad indicated again that he was open to a negotiated peace settlement with Israel, though he expressed skepticism that either Israel or the U.S. was ready to renew talks. "You say in English 'it take two to tango,'" President Assad told the reporter.
Whatever one ultimately feels about the regime in Damascus, ignoring any opportunity for negotiations would be an enormous mistake. Israel, the United States and Syria all have a great deal to gain from renewed talks. So what's stopping us?
by Peter Ryan
