He Knows What He's Talking About
He Knows What He's Talking About
Speaking at the Arab Strategy Forum, ex-President William Jefferson Clinton said, "Bush has 50-50 chance of pulling off Mideast peace."
"I think there is a 50-50 chance of success," said Clinton, one of a host of world figures taking part in the gathering entitled "The Arab World in 2020" in Dubai, one of the seven members of the United Arab Emirates.
Clinton, who almost pulled off a peace agreement at the presidential retreat of Camp David in July 2000, said he believed his failure largely explained Bush's reluctance to get involved during his first term in office.
...
"We should do our duty to be an honest broker. At a minimum, when we are involved fewer people die" in the conflict, he said.
Noting that Bush had "problems" with the late Yasser Arafat (news - web sites), Clinton said the Palestinian leader's death last month removed any pretext for Washington not to get involved in the peace process.
"They had problems with chairman Arafat. That's no longer an excuse not to be engaged," the former president said.
And of course it was Clinton's deep involvement in the peace process that led to successes in
Geneva and the above mentioned
Camp David summit.
I love the way the news article states that Clinton "almost pulled off a peace agreement." Were those Clinton's words (in which case they were false) or those of the reporter (in which case he/she is editorializing)?
Actually it was the deep involvement of the Clinton administration that led to the bloodshed, not the lack of involvement of the Bush administration. By making "peace" a major goal of his administration Clinton allowed the Palestinians to define what they expected and put the onus on Israel to meet those expectations. He never demanded anything of the Palestinians and marginalized Binyamin Netanyahu when Netanyahu attempted to do so. By giving the party least interested in peace - they were always interested in land - the veto over the peace process, he assured the process's failure. Additionaly by refusing to call Arafat and the PA to task for enabling Hamas he ensured that the failure of the peace process would lead to bloodletting.
I find it interesting that the conference has at least two Jewish participants. Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and
Thomas Friedman.
Crossposted on
Soccer Dad and
Israpundit.
Posted by David Gerstman at December 14, 2004 02:07 PM
He Knows What He's Talking About
Speaking at the Arab Strategy Forum, ex-President William Jefferson Clinton said, "Bush has 50-50 chance of pulling off Mideast peace."
And of course it was Clinton's deep involvement in the peace process that led to successes in Geneva and the above mentioned Camp David summit.
I love the way the news article states that Clinton "almost pulled off a peace agreement." Were those Clinton's words (in which case they were false) or those of the reporter (in which case he/she is editorializing)?
Actually it was the deep involvement of the Clinton administration that led to the bloodshed, not the lack of involvement of the Bush administration. By making "peace" a major goal of his administration Clinton allowed the Palestinians to define what they expected and put the onus on Israel to meet those expectations. He never demanded anything of the Palestinians and marginalized Binyamin Netanyahu when Netanyahu attempted to do so. By giving the party least interested in peace - they were always interested in land - the veto over the peace process, he assured the process's failure. Additionaly by refusing to call Arafat and the PA to task for enabling Hamas he ensured that the failure of the peace process would lead to bloodletting.
I find it interesting that the conference has at least two Jewish participants. Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and Thomas Friedman.
Crossposted on Soccer Dad and Israpundit.
Posted by David Gerstman at December 14, 2004 02:07 PM