Bush camp cautious on post-Arafat support
Bush camp cautious on post-Arafat support
By Dan Ephron and Farah Stockman, Boston Globe
WASHINGTON -- Despite a flurry of hopeful signs in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since the death of Yasser Arafat, the Bush administration is keeping a cautious distance from the emerging Palestinian leadership, saying that future political and economic support will depend on whether a new Palestinian president can rein in militant groups.
A State Department official involved in the issue said negotiations on a final peace deal could take at least a year or two to begin in earnest, and maybe much longer. To earn renewed US political and financial support for such a process, the official said, the new Palestinian president to be elected Jan. 9 will need to take concrete steps to end terrorist attacks against Israel, reform Palestinian institutions, and root out corruption. MORE
Posted by Ted Belman at December 20, 2004 11:08 AM
Bush camp cautious on post-Arafat support
By Dan Ephron and Farah Stockman, Boston Globe
WASHINGTON -- Despite a flurry of hopeful signs in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since the death of Yasser Arafat, the Bush administration is keeping a cautious distance from the emerging Palestinian leadership, saying that future political and economic support will depend on whether a new Palestinian president can rein in militant groups.
A State Department official involved in the issue said negotiations on a final peace deal could take at least a year or two to begin in earnest, and maybe much longer. To earn renewed US political and financial support for such a process, the official said, the new Palestinian president to be elected Jan. 9 will need to take concrete steps to end terrorist attacks against Israel, reform Palestinian institutions, and root out corruption. MORE
Posted by Ted Belman at December 20, 2004 11:08 AM