| What Took So Long? |
8 September 2003
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Abbas Quits PLO Premiership
Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, handed in his resignation last week after just four months in the job. If proof were needed that the road map to Middle East peace is dead, this is the proverbial nail in the coffin. He was supposed to have been a moderate man with whom the Israelis could negotiate. It turns out he is a sensible man who quit a non-job.
Mr. Abbas could have made a difference in the negotiating process if and only if Mr. Yasser Arafat, his boss, let him. Mr. Arafat has fought too long and too hard for what power he has to hand it over simply because he has become ineffective. To give Mr. Abbas the control he needed over the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Mr. Arafat would have had to surrender his grip on the armed groups in those territories.
Since that was not about to happen, the entire process has beenr evealed for what it has always been, smoke and mirrors dedicated to keeping the White House, Mr. Arafat and the Israeli government in a three-way dance that never brings anything like peace.
Now that square one is clearly in sight, on can expect new, and equally useless, action to "restart the peace process." Perhaps, Mr. Arafat will find someone else to take the role of empty suit. Perhaps, the Israelis will decide to exile Mr. Arafat. Perhaps, Mr. Bush will announce a new round of talks featuring Secretary of State Powell and a whirlwind trip.
It's old wine in new bottles. The Israelis won't make peace with Arafat, but there is no other power in Palestine that can make peace. And there is the American government, like a circus clown tripping over its own feet and pretending that things can still work out.
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