The news is full of strange reports. This morning I noted U.S. Secretary of State is traveling to Saudi Arabia to meet with its King, the broker of the Palestinian unity deal between Hamas and Fatah. Then I read a piece suggesting Sunni states are heavily concerned about the role of Hamas in the new government. Isn’t Saudi Arabia a Sunni state? And didn’t they just broker the deal?
When words are more closely examined, it appears the Sunni states are ratcheting up the pressure on the U.S. to get off its keister on Palestinian Israeli peace. The Jordanian King appeared to refer to America’s six year stint on the sidelines with his comments.
Abdullah issued a statement saying he’d urged the U.S. to "continue to play a major role in the peace process by creating the necessary environment for a resumption of negotiations" toward an independent Palestinian state.
"The longer the time passes without a framework that would help Palestinians and Israelis move forward, the greater the risk of an escalation of tensions, which is not in the interest of anyone."
Abdullah and other Sunni Arab allies strongly urged the Bush administration to energize peace efforts between Israel and the Palestinians. They wish partly to improve the Palestinians' lot, partly to tamp down Islamic extremism that those governments see as a threat and partly to counter the influence of Shiite Iran.
It appears the Sunni’s are disappointed in the Bush administration and having to broker internal Palestinian peace on their own. Condi travels to meet with the man who spoiled Bush’s recipe for civil war in each Middle Eastern democracy. The complication of Palestinian unity makes it more difficult for the heavy handed Bush and Olmert administrations to get their way in any peace process.
Both the "peace on our terms" and "civil war" cakes fell flat this past week. And Bush wants to find out why his recipes didn’t turn out. That is if Condi the pastry chef can do her job…
No comments:
Post a Comment