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Leaked Details Show Modest Goals for Kerry's Mideast Peace Plan
(Globe and Mail-Canada) Patrick Martin - Since the current round of peace talks began last July, a tight lid had been kept on negotiations until now. The publicity transformation reflects the change in U.S. Secretary of State Kerry's strategic goals. Faced with failure in his ambitious aim of getting Israelis and Palestinians to agree on a framework for permanent peace within nine months, Kerry opted to pursue a more modest goal of a set of principles the two sides could accept, albeit with reservations. With the contours of the new document beginning to emerge, so too is the opposition, the very thing Kerry hoped to avoid by keeping a cone of silence over the talks. Responding to reports that Kerry's set of principles includes recognition of Israel as a Jewish state, former Palestinian foreign minister Nabil Shaath said, "If Mr. Kerry thinks this is the sum of his brilliant intelligence, the document will go nowhere."