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| Middle East |
| More on the figurehead plan... |
| 2002-05-08 |
| Sources in Sharon's entourage to Washington said that U.S. President George Bush had agreed that peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians must wait until internal reforms within the PA have brought about a governing body that "would be headed by a different person or different people" than the current leader, Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat. Somebody with really good life insurance. And car insurance. And a strong digestive tract. And a bullet-proof vest. And a bomb cellar. "It was clear that the chief [Arafat] must be moved to a different role within the PA, customarily to a symbolic position and the administrative responsibilities would be transferred to others," the sources said. Iron-fisted dictator emeritus, y'might say... Sharon will not present the extended security cabinet with a proposal to expel Arafat. Instead, he is expected to adopt an American plan calling for structural changes that would ultimately sideline Arafat. And if Yasser refuses to be sidelined, then he can be dumped. According to the sources, Bush and his advisors have proposed the establishment of a temporary government within the PA until a constitution is drawn up and elections are held. Ummm... George? Normally it takes a certain amount of force to pull off a coup d'etat. This Gaza thump had better be pretty hard, 'cause the Euros are gonna calve on the spot as soon as the treads roll. The sources said that Bush also agreed that Israel would not hold talks with the PA until it has completed its internal reforms. The president did demand, however, that once the reforms have been carried out, the two sides must hold talks that would eventually lead to a final settlement. If the reforms take place, then there'll be somebody to talk to, won't there? The ball will be in the Israeli court. American officials estimate that moderate Arab nations will support the U.S. proposal, but that Israel would have to sit on the sidelines and not get involved in order for the proposal to fully succeed. The fix is in with the Soddis and the Jordanians. I'm still not sure it's something the Saudi Entity will allow to happen, though. Sure hope this isn't a best-laid plan. The Americans understand that without these structural changes "there is no one to talk to within the PA and it is a waste of effort," the sources said. And that's a fair statement of the obvious. But the Gaza operation's gonna be hard from the diplo standpoint. |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |