Richard Cohen reports on Secretary of State Colin Powell's plans to seek a settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict after the war with Iraq is concluded.
Cohen was naturally skeptical that the Bush Administration would follow through on the idea given its notable slant towards Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in the past. He writes:
Before the Israelis and the Palestinians can get their act together, however, the Bush administration will have to do the same. At the moment, the State Department, which used to conduct American foreign policy, has been outgunned by the Pentagon, the National Security Council (now with Elliott Abrams) and Dick Cheney, a vice president with very strong views about the Middle East. Suffice it to call them pro-Sharon.Bringing about a balanced solution to the Middle East conflict would help the Bush Administration rebuild some of the ties it burned on the road to war with Saddam. The window for such work, however, will be short once Saddam is removed from power.For this reason, a certain amount of skepticism is in order. So I asked Powell who besides him in the administration favored a plan that would mean going to the mat with Sharon. "The president," he responded quickly. I asked if he was certain of that.
Given the new dangers we have unleashed through the world through our attack on Saddam, we need to turn off the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I fear, unfortunately, that we will soon have many others with which to deal.
Leave a comment