President Bush moves boldly pursuing Middle East peace

A host of barriers stand in the way of an abiding peace in the Middle East, but one thing has been clear through several U.S. administrations: No peace will be reached between Israel and the Palestinians without strong and clear involvement of the United States.
President Bush has come reluctantly to the recognition that his personal involvement as an honest broker is necessary in any peace agreement. But having now recognized it, he is acting boldly and bravely next week to push the peace process.
Round of meetings
He will meet first in Cairo with Arab leaders and then in Jordan with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas. The meetings in Jordan will be held separately. Based on how those sessions go, there may or may not be a simultaneous meeting of the three.
This is an excellent first step, but there should be no mistaking it for any more than a step.
Enormous barriers to a peace agreement remain.
Not the least of those barriers is Yasser Arafat, a man who has never been willing to risk political capital in the cause of peace. Despite efforts to marginalize Arafat, any agreement Abbas, the new prime minister, reaches will have to be ratified by the Palestinian Authority, which Arafat continues to control.
And Abbas must do something Arafat was never willing or able to do: Secure an agreement with Hamas and other militant groups to cease their war of terror, especially the suicide bombings aimed at Israeli civilians that have claimed 300 lives.
He has signaled that he believes he can do that, just as Sharon has indicated he will be able to get his right wing supporters to go along with troop pullouts and abandonment of some settlements.
Daunting obstacles
But beyond those starting points lies an array of daunting barriers that President Bush is going to have to break through.
While the president has referred to Palestine, the borders of that new territory are subject to great debate. Equally thorny are questions of the Palestinians' claimed right of return, which is in conflict with Israel's desire -- need, really -- to remain a Jewish state. The future of Israeli settlements in Gaza and the West Bank is contentious. And Jerusalem itself remains perhaps the most explosive issue of all, with both sides seeing the ancient city as their capital.
President Bush's involvement in next week's talks provides hope for a settlement, but there is no hope for a quick settlement. Whatever progress he makes next week will require years of equally personal follow-up.