By Ted Belman
It would appear from what I am reading today that Bush’s new plan is half baked. I would have thought that such a plan would have been vetted with all the participants before being announced.
Yet it appears that no one is going along. Abbas is not going along in rejecting interim moves, Maliki is not being cooperative in fighting against all insurgents and terrorists and finally the “moderate” Arab states will not help unless the US gets Israel to accept the Saudi Plan.
Bush may well decide that he can’t succeed in Iraq without delivering Israel. But can he deliver Israel so long as Iran and Syria are supporting Hamas. Will Israel accept the Saudi Plan? Even if the government does, minus the right of return, will the Israeli public go along?
It seems to me that Iraq and Iran are urgent matters and that the issues to be resolved in the Israel/Arab conflict are too complex to quick forced solutions.
Since the US policy has been committed to the Roadmap which essentially is the Saudi Plan, the US will try to force such a solution on Israel. Particularly because it needs help in Iraq and the EU and the Arabs are putting great pressure on the US.
All that stands in the way of such a solution is Iran, Syria , Hezbollah and Hamas.
Except that the Saudi Plan requires Israel to give up the Golan and make peace with Syria.
It seems to me that the Arab League is backing Baker and the ISG Report. No surprise there.
The best hope for Israel to be spared from being forced into a prejudicial peace deal with the Palestinians rests with the Palestinians themselves, who if they can just remain true to form, have never missed an opportunity to miss an opportunty.