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May 31, 2002/Sivan 20 5762, Vol. 54, No. 37
Plans still vague for peace conference
MATTHEW E. BERGER
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
WASHINGTON - The United States, having committed itself to an international peace conference this summer, is now trying to determine how such a meeting can garner results.
Or whether it should take place at all.
Little has been determined definitively about the shape and scope of the meeting that is now being touted as a ministerial meeting.
No date or place has yet been set for the gathering, which U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell announced earlier this month with the leaders of the United Nations, European Union and Russia.
Planning for the conference has been complicated by the situation on the ground: the suicide bombings have resumed and Israeli forces are continuing operations in the West Bank to arrest suspected terrorists.
Among the more important details to be worked out is the participation of the Palestinian Authority and its president, Yasser Arafat.
While the State Department is not publicly fostering a replacement for Arafat, sources suggest the administration is hoping that one emerges.
But even as the administration forges ahead in planning the peace conference, the prevailing view in Washington is that the Bush administration is in flux on how to move forward in the Middle East, and that the conference was announced without a clear agenda.
"This is a reflection of the fact that the Bush administration is at a loss," said Danielle Pletka, vice president for foreign and defense policy at the American Enterprise Institute.
But Powell, speaking to reporters in Rome May 28, said the administration is moving forward with the vision previously laid out by Bush, even though another State Department official told JTA "There's always a possibility that (the conference) wouldn't happen."
Officials and analysts are debating just what substance the meeting can and will address.
One view is that the meeting should resemble a regional conference, with discussions to include the international war on terrorism and the Iraqi situation.
This approach, favored by Sharon and being dubbed "Madrid Plus," after the Madrid Peace talks in 1991 that launched the Oslo peace process, would create an environment for a discussion about the peace process, rather than getting into specific details.
An alternative possibility suggested by observers is to have a more structured forum on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, complete with timelines and agreements.
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