×
POSTED ON TAP ONLINE: WINNING THE PEACE. Reporting from Tel Aviv, Terence Samuel writes that it's clear there will be no true "mission accomplished" moment in Iraq. The Bush administration had best begin taking note that the conflicts in the Middle East will only be resolved through negotiations.
The volatile politics of the Middle East are a continuous refutation that military successes or defeats are ever as conclusive as we might expect. After 60 years of conflict, and still in the thrall of the debacle they call Second Lebanon War, Israelis are stumped about where to go next in their dealings with the Palestinians. The Arab League, after 60 years of conflict is talking about an "Arab initiative" for peace with Israel. No one is under any illusion that fighting here is at an end -- indeed, there is constant preparation for the next war -- but there is now a kind of weary understanding that the solution lies in some kind of negotiated deal. "Israel should give to peace the same money it now gives to security," said Israeli Housing Minister Meir Shetreet, an ambitious cabinet member trying to raise his profile by staking out what is he regards as a bold position. But even the most frustrated and cynical of voices here lament that there is no partner with whom to cut a deal.President Bush should understand now that the war in Iraq will end in exactly the kind of military ambiguity that exists today.Read the whole thing here.--The Editors
