The weekend conference, organized by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy — a think tank known for its pro-Israel views and for its predominantly Jewish board — brought together Americans, Israelis and Arabs to a serene Northern Virginia resort. The few State Department officials who attended the discussions were provided with a clear message to take back to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice: No need to rush into a peace conference.
Diplomats, administration officials and regional experts all seemed to agree that the task facing the American-led conference is nearly impossible if peace between Israelis and Palestinians is the goal. Among the impediments mentioned were
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– the lack of time for ironing out differences before the summit,
– significant gaps in expectations and
– a lack of commitment on behalf of the Bush administration.
The alleged lack of interest on the part of the White House regarding Israeli-Palestinian peace talks was seemingly underscored by Vice President Dick Cheney, whose remarks concluded the conference.
Cheney devoted less than a minute of his 30-minute speech to discussing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Between a lengthy discussion on Iraq and a call for free elections in Lebanon, Cheney mentioned in passing the upcoming summit.
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“[President Bush] has announced a meeting to be held in Annapolis later this year to review the progress toward building Palestinian institutions, to seek innovative ways to support further reform, to provide diplomatic support to the parties, so that we can move forward on the path to a Palestinian state,”
I feel better already.
CONTINUE
