......notwithstanding its failings, the recent Saudi proposal at least offers a starting point. Its strength lies in the fact that it comes from a major funding source for Arab extremism......
If the Saudi proposal is to have legs, it is incumbent upon the Crown Prince to underscore it as a serious move by putting pressure upon the one party over which Saudi Arabia has considerable influence.
In other words, if it anything more than a charm offensive to mollify the US, The Saudis should follow up with pressure on Arafat to significantly lower the level of violence.
In 1993, Arafat was forced to the table at Oslo because the Saudis, irate over Arafat's support for Iraq in the Gulf War, had cut off funding for the PLO. It was broke.
If the Saudis leave their proposal hanging, as they have done at prior Arab League meetings, then it will soon vanish into the sands, one more missed opportunity--if ever it really was one.
As I see it, Sharon is ready to take a two-track approach--negotiate while at the same time responding ever more forcefully to violence. If, indeed, the Saudis are prepared to take action beyond a speech and bear hugs all around in Beirut, now is their opportunity.
If Arafat could win a Nobel Peace prize, just think of Prince Abdullah sharing a platform with Arik Sharon in 2004.
Perhaps they should first get the Norwegians to start things rolling again. They had the moxie and the cover to carry out negotiations in secret that brought about the Oslo Accords. It was a nice try until Arafat decided to scuttle them.
In any event, the Saudis created for themselves an opportunity to break free from their narrow world of pre-modernism under new leadership. It's a longshot. |
