Smarter than his administration
Sometimes it looks like US President George W. Bush is the only person in his administration with his head screwed on in the right direction.
When asked after his meeting with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon about growing speculation over an international Middle East peace conference, Bush responded, "The conditions aren't even there yet that's because no one has confidence in the emerging Palestinian government." Asked about recent Israeli military actions, Bush said, "Israel has a right to defend herself. And, at the same time as Israel does so, the prime minister is willing to discuss the conditions necessary to achieve what we want which is a secure region and a hopeful region."
And on Saturday, standing next to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Bush was asked whether Israel was expecting too much in linking talks to a cessation in violence. Bush responded, "Chairman Arafat must do everything in his power to stop the violence, to stop the attacks on Israel. I mean everything. And that includes reforming the security forces so that they are their primary function is to deal with violence." Bush also deftly deflected Mubarak's attempt to set a timetable for establishing a Palestinian state.
Taken together, these and previous statements form the outline of a clear, if interim, US policy toward the Middle East. According to this policy, the US is for a Palestinian state, but not one which, like the Taliban in Afghanistan, was up to its eyeballs in terrorism. Until the Palestinian polity cleanses itself, the American vision of Palestine will not only remain a vision, but there is no point in a conference to discuss it, even at the ministerial level.
This is, of course, absolutely right. The only mystery is why Bush has to swim upstream within his own administration to say it. One can almost hear the teeth grinding in the arm of government that is supposed to be devising American foreign policy. This current series of sensible Bush statements continues a pattern of presidential pioneering, offered despite, not with the support of, his foreign-policy establishment.
The most fundamental of these breakthroughs was Bush's "axis of evil" speech in January, which it is fair to speculate would never have seen the light of day if vetted in Foggy Bottom. Even now, Bush is practically the only member of his administration to use the "e" word.
But the pattern continues. Since then, one might think that the State Department would be busy building the case for ousting Saddam Hussein, and certainly would not block with all its might any meaningful assistance to the Iraqi National Congress. Instead, State has decided that solving the Arab-Israeli conflict is prerequisite to confronting Saddam Hussein hence the flurry of activity to convene an international conference.
Bush and the Pentagon know full well that the evil ones (Saddam and Arafat, but don't tell State) see a combination of international diplomacy and Palestinian terrorism as their last best hope to divert an American liberation of Iraq. They see that, for now, the "peace process" has become a run-interference-for-Saddam process. But they seem powerless to convince State to get with the program.
Now State and the usual suspects are hoping that Bush, following his round of meetings with leaders of the region, will make another key policy speech. Their dream is for Bush to move Palestinian statehood a notch forward with a deadline even a vague one, such as, "by the end of my first term." Bush should take the opportunity to do something completely different and thereby reclaim his foreign policy: put the horse before the cart. The Clinton administration's fundamental error was to pretend that regional radicalism could be diffused by solving the Palestinian problem. This was always backwards more obviously so since September 11 but the Bush administration has only hinted at the truth.
Bush would save himself a lot of grief if he simply said, in effect, the road to Palestine goes through Baghdad. The delicate way of putting this is that, before there can be a Palestinian state, there must be not only Palestinian reform, but an regional climate that favors peace. The last such climate was created when Saddam was defeated in 1991; the next will come when that defeat is made permanent.
Smarter than his administration
Sometimes it looks like US President George W. Bush is the only person in his administration with his head screwed on in the right direction.
When asked after his meeting with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon about growing speculation over an international Middle East peace conference, Bush responded, "The conditions aren't even there yet that's because no one has confidence in the emerging Palestinian government." Asked about recent Israeli military actions, Bush said, "Israel has a right to defend herself. And, at the same time as Israel does so, the prime minister is willing to discuss the conditions necessary to achieve what we want which is a secure region and a hopeful region."
And on Saturday, standing next to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Bush was asked whether Israel was expecting too much in linking talks to a cessation in violence. Bush responded, "Chairman Arafat must do everything in his power to stop the violence, to stop the attacks on Israel. I mean everything. And that includes reforming the security forces so that they are their primary function is to deal with violence." Bush also deftly deflected Mubarak's attempt to set a timetable for establishing a Palestinian state.
Taken together, these and previous statements form the outline of a clear, if interim, US policy toward the Middle East. According to this policy, the US is for a Palestinian state, but not one which, like the Taliban in Afghanistan, was up to its eyeballs in terrorism. Until the Palestinian polity cleanses itself, the American vision of Palestine will not only remain a vision, but there is no point in a conference to discuss it, even at the ministerial level.
This is, of course, absolutely right. The only mystery is why Bush has to swim upstream within his own administration to say it. One can almost hear the teeth grinding in the arm of government that is supposed to be devising American foreign policy. This current series of sensible Bush statements continues a pattern of presidential pioneering, offered despite, not with the support of, his foreign-policy establishment.
The most fundamental of these breakthroughs was Bush's "axis of evil" speech in January, which it is fair to speculate would never have seen the light of day if vetted in Foggy Bottom. Even now, Bush is practically the only member of his administration to use the "e" word.
But the pattern continues. Since then, one might think that the State Department would be busy building the case for ousting Saddam Hussein, and certainly would not block with all its might any meaningful assistance to the Iraqi National Congress. Instead, State has decided that solving the Arab-Israeli conflict is prerequisite to confronting Saddam Hussein hence the flurry of activity to convene an international conference.
Bush and the Pentagon know full well that the evil ones (Saddam and Arafat, but don't tell State) see a combination of international diplomacy and Palestinian terrorism as their last best hope to divert an American liberation of Iraq. They see that, for now, the "peace process" has become a run-interference-for-Saddam process. But they seem powerless to convince State to get with the program.
Now State and the usual suspects are hoping that Bush, following his round of meetings with leaders of the region, will make another key policy speech. Their dream is for Bush to move Palestinian statehood a notch forward with a deadline even a vague one, such as, "by the end of my first term." Bush should take the opportunity to do something completely different and thereby reclaim his foreign policy: put the horse before the cart. The Clinton administration's fundamental error was to pretend that regional radicalism could be diffused by solving the Palestinian problem. This was always backwards more obviously so since September 11 but the Bush administration has only hinted at the truth.
Bush would save himself a lot of grief if he simply said, in effect, the road to Palestine goes through Baghdad. The delicate way of putting this is that, before there can be a Palestinian state, there must be not only Palestinian reform, but an regional climate that favors peace. The last such climate was created when Saddam was defeated in 1991; the next will come when that defeat is made permanent.
Smarter than his administration
Sometimes it looks like US President George W. Bush is the only person in his administration with his head screwed on in the right direction.
When asked after his meeting with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon about growing speculation over an international Middle East peace conference, Bush responded, "The conditions aren't even there yet that's because no one has confidence in the emerging Palestinian government." Asked about recent Israeli military actions, Bush said, "Israel has a right to defend herself. And, at the same time as Israel does so, the prime minister is willing to discuss the conditions necessary to achieve what we want which is a secure region and a hopeful region."
And on Saturday, standing next to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Bush was asked whether Israel was expecting too much in linking talks to a cessation in violence. Bush responded, "Chairman Arafat must do everything in his power to stop the violence, to stop the attacks on Israel. I mean everything. And that includes reforming the security forces so that they are their primary function is to deal with violence." Bush also deftly deflected Mubarak's attempt to set a timetable for establishing a Palestinian state.
Taken together, these and previous statements form the outline of a clear, if interim, US policy toward the Middle East. According to this policy, the US is for a Palestinian state, but not one which, like the Taliban in Afghanistan, was up to its eyeballs in terrorism. Until the Palestinian polity cleanses itself, the American vision of Palestine will not only remain a vision, but there is no point in a conference to discuss it, even at the ministerial level.
This is, of course, absolutely right. The only mystery is why Bush has to swim upstream within his own administration to say it. One can almost hear the teeth grinding in the arm of government that is supposed to be devising American foreign policy. This current series of sensible Bush statements continues a pattern of presidential pioneering, offered despite, not with the support of, his foreign-policy establishment.
The most fundamental of these breakthroughs was Bush's "axis of evil" speech in January, which it is fair to speculate would never have seen the light of day if vetted in Foggy Bottom. Even now, Bush is practically the only member of his administration to use the "e" word.
But the pattern continues. Since then, one might think that the State Department would be busy building the case for ousting Saddam Hussein, and certainly would not block with all its might any meaningful assistance to the Iraqi National Congress. Instead, State has decided that solving the Arab-Israeli conflict is prerequisite to confronting Saddam Hussein hence the flurry of activity to convene an international conference.
Bush and the Pentagon know full well that the evil ones (Saddam and Arafat, but don't tell State) see a combination of international diplomacy and Palestinian terrorism as their last best hope to divert an American liberation of Iraq. They see that, for now, the "peace process" has become a run-interference-for-Saddam process. But they seem powerless to convince State to get with the program.
Now State and the usual suspects are hoping that Bush, following his round of meetings with leaders of the region, will make another key policy speech. Their dream is for Bush to move Palestinian statehood a notch forward with a deadline even a vague one, such as, "by the end of my first term." Bush should take the opportunity to do something completely different and thereby reclaim his foreign policy: put the horse before the cart. The Clinton administration's fundamental error was to pretend that regional radicalism could be diffused by solving the Palestinian problem. This was always backwards more obviously so since September 11 but the Bush administration has only hinted at the truth.
Bush would save himself a lot of grief if he simply said, in effect, the road to Palestine goes through Baghdad. The delicate way of putting this is that, before there can be a Palestinian state, there must be not only Palestinian reform, but an regional climate that favors peace. The last such climate was created when Saddam was defeated in 1991; the next will come when that defeat is made permanent.
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