''There is nothing I would not do,'' he said. We know, we know!
Clinton Hopeful on Mideast Peace
By BARRY SCHWEID
AP Diplomatic Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) — Even before Israel and the Palestinians open talks on a final peace settlement, President Clinton is raising expectations for an outline of a settlement by mid-February — an ambitious and difficult timetable by his own reckoning.
The optimism he flashed in talks in Norway with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat was based on what a senior U.S. official called ''a new spirit between the two sides.'' But it's uncertain whether that will translate into resolve to overcome the toughest obstacles to permanent peace.
''A new spirit is fine and good and always welcome. But we should not kid ourselves,'' Richard N. Haass, director of foreign policy studies at the Brookings Institution, said Wednesday. ''The most difficult issues remain to be addressed and gaining domestic support for compromise on both sides will prove extremely difficult.''
Besides, he said in an interview, ''there still is no formula for regulating activity while the negotiations are going on, from settlements, to water supplies, to road-building, or anything that changes the situation on the ground.''
Judith Kipper, Mideast specialist at the Council on Foreign Relations, said ''creating a positive atmosphere is a good thing, but it's not a substitute for substance.''
''This administration has primarily been tactical, going for the big ceremonial events,'' she said. ''But we are in the final act of this play and they've got to get to the substance.''
The two Mideast leaders, who met with Clinton at Oslo on Monday and Tuesday, did not resolve or even take up the Palestinian demand for a state, for a chunk of Jerusalem to establish a capital or where final borders will be drawn.
Also untouched were the claims of tens of thousands of Palestinian refugees to a homeland in Israel and the enormous problem of scarce water resources.
But Barak and Arafat promised to meet regularly during the negotiations that are due to open early next week.
With 14 months left in his presidency, Clinton is hoping a Mideast peace settlement will be part of his legacy. He promised to host a summit if needed and to help out in any way he can. ''There is nothing I would not do,'' he said.
Clinton will send Secretary of State Madeleine Albright to the Middle East, probably in early December and possibly again a few weeks later, while veteran U.S. mediator Dennis Ross will fly there every few weeks with his own suggestions for compromises.
A senior Mideast leader who met with Clinton at the White House on Wednesday said the president returned upbeat about peace prospects in the region.
''I found the president optimistic about his discussions in Oslo, but of course all parties have to do their part to make sure that they reach the same point together,'' said Saudi Arabian Defense Minister Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz.
Aziz, who with other high-level Saudi officials is making the rounds in Washington during a working visit this week, said Clinton also discussed peace issues related to Syria and Lebanon.
''The president is fully engaged on that, and supports getting to a comprehensive and just solution there,'' Sultan said.
So far, Barak and Arafat have muted their expectations, choosing to pull together to establish a positive atmosphere.
And yet, the Palestinian leader has left no doubt he expects to establish a state on virtually all of the West Bank and Gaza and — an even more controversial demand — with its capital in Jerusalem.
Clinton, in the Oslo talks, managed to keep a lid on the hot-button issues. There were no provocative public statements. And he urged the two leaders to avoid them during what he called ''the last sprint toward getting a framework agreement on all these final status issues by next February.''
That outline, in turn, is supposed to culminate in a full accord by mid-September.
''The chances that we can do it now are dramatically increased,'' Clinton said at the windup in Oslo.
But the situation on the ground, and the emotions that run high on both sides, are formidable.
While Barak is rolling up some of the Jewish settlements on the West Bank, others are being strengthened. Their presence is both a challenge to Arafat and a reassurance to the sizable number of Israelis who are dedicated to retaining biblical Israel.
Jerusalem is an even touchier problem.
Israel reunited the city in the 1967 Mideast War and proclaimed it Israel's eternal capital. Arafat's push for part of the city tests the determination of both sides and the ingenuity of the negotiators.
William Quandt, professor of government and foreign affairs at the University of Virginia, said Clinton had gone in a few days from lowering expectations ahead of the mini-summit to getting carried away during the Oslo talks.
''Somewhere in between is where we ought to be,'' Quandt said in an interview.
Barak and Arafat give the impression they were ready to get down to business, the former National Security Council official said.
''But the clock is ticking and there is no denying the president's useful time is running out. By spring, we will be deep into a presidential campaign, and inevitably that distracts attentions from what a president wants to do.''
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