Scowcroft points way out in the Middle East, but will Bush Neocons listen?

[flpoljunkie]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/28/AR2006072801571_pf.html

Beyond Lebanon
This Is the Time for a U.S.-Led Comprehensive Settlement

By Brent Scowcroft

Sunday, July 30, 2006; B07

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has stated that a simple cease-fire in Lebanon is not the solution to the current violence. She says it is necessary to deal with the roots of the problem. She is right on both counts. But Hezbollah is not the source of the problem; it is a derivative of the cause, which is the tragic conflict over Palestine that began in 1948.

The eastern shore of the Mediterranean is in turmoil from end to end, a repetition of continuing conflicts in one part or another since the abortive attempts of the United Nations to create separate Israeli and Palestinian states in 1948. The current conflagration has energized the world. Now, perhaps more than ever, we have an opportunity to harness that concern and energy to achieve a comprehensive resolution of the entire 58-year-old tragedy. Only the United States can lead the effort required to seize this opportunity.

The outlines of a comprehensive settlement have been apparent since President Bill Clinton's efforts collapsed in 2000. The major elements would include:

· A Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders, with minor rectifications agreed upon between Palestine and Israel.

· Palestinians giving up the right of return and Israel reciprocating by removing its settlements in the West Bank, again with rectifications as mutually agreed. Those displaced on both sides would receive compensation from the international community.

· King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia unambiguously reconfirming his 2002 pledge that the Arab world is prepared to enter into full normal relations with Israel upon its withdrawal from the lands occupied in 1967.

· Egypt and Saudi Arabia working with the Palestinian Authority to put together a government along the lines of the 18-point agreement reached between Hamas and Fatah prisoners in Israeli jails in June. This government would negotiate for the Authority.

· Deployment, as part of a cease-fire, of a robust international force in southern Lebanon.

· Deployment of another international force to facilitate and supervise traffic to and from Gaza and the West Bank.

· Designation of Jerusalem as the shared capital of Israel and Palestine, with appropriate international guarantees of freedom of movement and civic life in the city.

These elements are well-known to people who live in the region and to those outside who have labored over the decades seeking to shape a lasting peace. What seems breathtakingly complicated, however, is how one mobilizes the necessary political will, in the region and beyond, to transform these principles into an agreement on a lasting accord.

The current crisis in Lebanon provides a historic opportunity to achieve what has seemed impossible. That said, it is too much to expect those most directly implicated -- Israeli and Palestinian leaders -- to lead the way. That responsibility falls to others, principally the United States, which alone can mobilize the international community and Israel and the Arab states for the task that has defeated so many previous efforts.

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[ThoughtCriminal]

1. But to sell it to our leaders

You have to show how this will lead to Jesus returning. No Armageddon, no deal.

[tanyev]

2. No, but we might get another "I'M the decider!" quote very soon.

[dave123williams]

3. This guy's a rational thinker - too bad Bush shoved him out.

[BillZBubb]

4. This proposal is still heavily biased towards Israel.

It will not get too many Palestinians on board. There is too much wiggle room for Israel to play their usual games. The first point should be enforce UN 242. That means Israel withdraws to the pre-1967 borders. Period. Then they can negotiate on the other points.

For instance, the idea of a shared Jerusalem may have merit, but Jerusalem is not part of pre-1967 Israel. If the Israeli's want that point, they will have to yield something significant enough to get the Palestinians to agree. It should not given to the Israeli's outright.

[opihimoimoi]

5. Wise words but will this Administration be up for the task?

Their record sez NO

Inept and amatuerish