'Road Map' Setbacks Highlight U.S. Pattern

[kskiska]

Monday, October 6, 2003; Page A01

President Bush put it starkly when he met with Jordan's King Abdullah at Camp David two weeks ago.

Palestinian leader Yasser "Arafat is a loser," Bush told the king, according to three sources familiar with the conversation. "I'm not going to spend my political capital on losers, only winners. I'm still in a war mode, and the war is terrorism. If people don't fight terrorism, I am not going to deal with them."

Yet now, four months after Bush formally launched the U.S.-backed peace plan known as the "road map" with a pair of summits near the Red Sea, the plan is in tatters. A Palestinian prime minister intended to sideline Arafat resigned, leaving Arafat back in control. A cease-fire has been broken by suicide bombings, such as the attack Saturday in Haifa, and Israeli reprisals, such as yesterday's bombing inside Syria. And Bush's promise that a stream of U.S. officials would "ride herd" on the parties to pursue peace has been all but forgotten.

The road map's failure highlights a pattern that has characterized the administration's approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, say current and former officials and outside experts. The pattern is one of engagement and disengagement -- a burst of publicity about new initiatives or special envoys, followed by policy drift and an unwillingness to push either side, especially the Israelis, to take big steps toward improvement. Eventually, the effort goes dormant, sometimes for months, until yet another approach is crafted.

more…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A49085-2003Oct5.html

[E_Zapata]

1. Did no one explain the diff betw statesmanship and sportsmanship

to Bush Jr?

Losers and Winners are not the language of statesman.

and referring to anyone who doesn't agree with you as a "Loser" and dividing ALL people into either a winner or a loser isn't even good sportsmanship.

No wonder he traded that great ball player.

Loser!

[tinnypriv]

2. Did the Post not get the memo yet?

The Roadmap is in a "deep freeze" until after the 2004 elections. :shrug: