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Bush at Annapolis

[Washington Institute for Near East Policy] Robert Satloff - Beyond the headlines and photo-ops, the most significant aspect of the event was that President Bush offered little sign he plans to devote the final months of his administration to a high-stakes personal quest for a permanent peace treaty between the two parties. When the Annapolis meeting was first conceived months ago, it was intended to celebrate an Israeli-Palestinian agreement to sketch out a "political horizon" for establishing an independent Palestinian state at peace with Israel. Since then, objective reality intruded, forcing down the hosts' expectations. In the "joint understanding" that President Bush read out at the beginning of his remarks, the parties agreed that the U.S. will "monitor and judge" the extent to which each fulfills commitments. The emphasis on Washington acting as judge is significant. It takes the Roadmap out of the hands of the Quartet. Many participants came to Annapolis to discern for themselves the extent of personal effort, commitment, and zeal the president will place on achieving an Israeli-Palestinian peace treaty before he leaves the White House. And his message was clear: the president will not be throwing the dice on a gamble to achieve a legacy of success in the Middle East peace process in the final year of his presidency.
2007-11-30 01:00:00
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