U.S. to Take It Slow on Mideast
WASHINGTON — President Bush last week committed himself to a new push for peace between Israelis and Palestinians, a goal he declared was "within reach." But as the president and his team intensified their effort, they also left no doubt that they intended to move forward one cautious step at a time.
Although the president's State of the Union address suggested that he viewed Middle East peace as a potential centerpiece of his legacy, the administration has made it clear that it will focus its efforts on shorter-term goals. And that although they will offer vigorous assistance, they view their role as helping rather than leading the way.
Condoleezza Rice underscored this point in arranging her first overseas trip as secretary of State. She made plans to meet with Israeli and Palestinian leaders today and Monday -- but will leave before a much-anticipated summit between Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is held Tuesday in Egypt.
"It is extremely important that the parties themselves are taking responsibility," she said Friday.
"We really want to be supportive of the parties and their efforts. Not every effort has to be an American effort."
The United States' cautious approach doesn't mean that the White House won't someday focus more directly on the tougher, long-term issues that have so often undone the peace effort, such as land, control of Jerusalem and the status of Palestinian refugees.
But it does mean that the president intends to limit his political risk while he waits to see whether, in the course of this year, the two sides take advantage of several promising developments. These include Abbas' recent election and an increasingly coordinated effort to carry out Sharon's planned withdrawal of Israeli settlers and troops from the Gaza Strip this summer.
By proceeding cautiously, the White House can avoid confrontations with Sharon and allies within the Israeli government as well as with Jewish groups in the U.S., most of which support the Gaza initiative.
The Israelis prefer to keep the international focus on security issues, Palestinian reform and development and the Gaza withdrawal -- not on what they should concede to the Palestinians. Sharon's government also is under pressure from Israeli settlers and their supporters to drop the withdrawal plan and maintain hawkish positions.
