M.J. Rosenberg, a Mideast policy analyst at the Israel Policy Forum has written yet another incisive article on the prospects for Mideast peace in Handing Victory to Terrorists?. Rosenberg is one of my favorite columnists on this subject. In this piece he writes that the only figure who benefits from chaos on the Palestinian political scene and the end of the Road Map peace process is Arafat. The latter is a spoiler whose fortunes rise as the political situation deteriorates; and fall when peace and security improve.
Rosenberg’s main contention is that the fate of the Road Map and the entire Israeli-Palestinian peace process lies in the hands of the Bush Administration. If they blink or reduce their commitment then all hope is lost. If they keep the faith, then success is possible. Let’s hope against hope that Bush and Powell do the right thing.
