To Annapolize: to create great fanfare over absolutely nothing.
Seriously, after seven years in office and nary a serious look at the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, did President bush actually think that one day in Annapolis can change the face of the Middle East?
In spite of [Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's] many visits to the region over the past year, her sole tangible offering has been to introduce the term "political horizon" into the lexicon of a conflict already inundated with banal phrases and euphemisms. However, she has never defined the parameters of that "horizon." Indeed, Rice explained to representatives of American Jewish organizations in February that the US would not offer any suggestions on the "political horizon" once negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians commenced, nor would it pressure Israel. Thus begging the question, what will the Bush Administration do to ensure the success of these negotiations it has initiated? As the Bush presidency nears its end and an American election year begins, the answer is, very little.Now, I want peace in the Middle East as much as the next person. And poo-pooing efforts at peacemaking is not exactly how I like to spend my time. But after nearly two weeks of negotiations between then-Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and then-Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, following months of painstaking preparations between both sides' negotiating teams, the two sides were at an impasse. A few short months later, all hell broke loose. Does the Bush Administration seriously think that one day -- one day! -- in Annapolis will drain all the bad blood that has been spilled?
Abbas and Olmert have agreed to negotiate. Great. New Palestinian State by the end of 2008? I'm not holding my breath.
1 comment:
I think one of the ever-present flaws of the Current Occupier is that he always underestimates (sorry, "misunderestimates") the difficulty of whatever new task he undertakes. It was this way with Iraq, and with Social Security privatization, taxes and fiscal policy, you name it.
It must have something to do with all of his major life hurdles being smoothed out by his father and grandfather: being a legacy child guaranteed his graduation from Yale, daddy congressman got him out of Vietnam, daddy's friends underwriting his numerous business ventures and covering any debt that they incur, and so on.
I think he's minimized his family's role in his achievements, though, and instead he thinks it was him that leapt all those hurdles. As a result, he probably thinks he's a lot smarter and more persuasive than he really is, which is why a) he tries to tackle huge problems overnight and seems to have no appreciation for the difficulty of the situation, and b) he's so easily manipulated by the vice president, the former secretary of defense, and Ahmad Chalabi.
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