ISRAEL

ISRAEL
Jerusalem Post, Oct. 22: When Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was in Washington, he no doubt promised, pre-Iraq, not to evict Yasser Arafat or replace the Palestinian Authority with the Israel Defense Forces. Fine. It is one thing, however, to postpone map-altering moves out of deference to the U.S.; it is quite another to go along with suicidal suggestions, such as IDF pullbacks in the middle of a terror campaign.
The other thing that happened in Washington was that Sharon was handed a six-page document with the chipper title A Performance-Based Road Map to a Permanent Two-State Solution to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.
Ridiculous deadlines
While the full text of the document is yet to be released, its reported contents indicate that this is one trial balloon that should be quickly deflated. Despite throwing in the words "performance-based" as a sop to Sharon, State's road map is chock full of deadlines, including ridiculously short deadlines for elections in the PA.
A performance-based approach means that our war on terrorism is dictated by the actual terror that we face, not wishful thinking about the PA or the expected American campaign in Iraq.
BRITAIN
The Independent, London: Inch by inch, or rather centimeter by centimeter, the members of the Security Council of the United Nations appear to be moving towards a compromise resolution on Iraq.
The United States, having talked as if nothing else than a threat of all-out war was acceptable if Saddam Hussein did not comply, has now moderated its stance to accept a resolution promising much vaguer threats of action.
The French, with the Russians yesterday emerging from behind their skirts, want nothing that would allow military action against Iraq without further consultation. The Americans, with British backing, seek precisely this cover. But at this stage one should be grateful that Washington has put aside its talk of regime change and unilateral action.
Diplomatic approach
Whether for reasons of domestic public opinion or international objection, President Bush appears readier to adopt the diplomatic approach as favored by his State Department rather than the "kick ass" policy promoted by his Defense Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, and his Vice president, Dick Cheney.
FRANCE
Le Monde, Paris, Oct. 22: In Asia, Moscow, and Europe, American envoys will be looking for a consensus to block Pyongyang's uranium enrichment program. In Washington, a certain embarrassment has become perceptible regarding (Pyongyang's) late revelations.
The U.S. considers that North Korea's uranium enrichment program annuls the 1994 accord in which Pyongyang pledged to halt all nuclear weapons development.
However, the consequences of this annulment have not been made clear. The Americans have decided not to say if they will stop the 500,000 tons of crude oil delivered to the country 3/8 annually ... or end plans to help build two "non-proliferating" reactors.
Without doubt, this attitude is part of Washington's decision to embrace diplomatic pressure and dialogue.
Economic failures
Inspection programs and aid to North Korea involve the U.S., South Korea, Japan and Europe, and they cannot be brought back into question without dialogue. The American government's approach to the North Korean problem is very different from how it is handling Iraq. The explanation given is that government in Pyongyang has been very weakened by its economic failures, and that it is susceptible to pressures ineffectual in Iraq.s among Washington's allies of the danger represented by North Korea's nuclear armament -- one that upsets the region's strategic order -- Seoul and Tokyo apparently want to move more cautiously than Washington would have hoped.
ITALY
La Stampa, Turin, Oct. 23: In some implausible political thriller the Washington sniper who is destroying America's last illusions of invulnerability would be on the payroll of the secret services of an Arab nation. The special assassin "operates" in the capital of the Empire giving his horrific acts the symbolism of a challenge. He ridicules an impotent United States which, with all its TV cameras and spy satellites, cannot catch him.
By monopolizing the media he distracts the American population from its obsession with Iraqi President Saddam Hussein -- an obsession which remains essential if President George W. Bush is to stir up the country's belligerent spirit.
Sept. 11 attacks
An Arab connection is most improbable. Nevertheless, it's not more unlikely than the idea that the CIA was behind the Sept. 11 attacks, to provoke a war with Afghanistan and obtain control of that country's oil pipelines.
But no one could ever believe the U.S. Administration is implicated in the sniper affair, especially since the killings, even more than international diplomacy, are delaying a war against Iraq.
SINGAPORE
Straits Times, Singapore, Oct. 23: After North Korea's disclosure of its uranium-enrichment program, attention naturally is focused on what the United States will make of a changed equation in Northeast Asia. Indications are that the U.S. is thrown off-balance, as much as South Korea and Japan have been. Washington's Korea-policy crew is divided on the appropriate response, but what has been tentatively made clear are two points. The first is that the U.S. is coordinating a joint approach -- together with China, South Korea, Japan and Russia, with the European Union in a supporting role -- to put pressure on Pyongyang to give up its nuclear ambitions.
Normalization talks
The second, more crucial point, is that the probability remains of normalization talks between Washington and Pyongyang eventually taking place, in spite of suggestions that America ought to feel no compulsion to do so now. As long as the U.S. keeps up with the reconnoitering, the outlook is fair.
But if the U.S. is the fulcrum on which the issue will swing, Japan can provide considerable leverage to the motion. It is purely a matter of evolution. If Japan backs off, the U.S. is bound to shut out the Koreans indefinitely.