Can the Road Map Be a Path to Peace?
Question: How is the Middle East road map, which President Bush will submit to Israelis and Palestinians next month, be helpful to the United States and Israel? Answer: The United States is in the midst of a difficult war, in which U.S. objectives are likely to be compromised unless it can build support — or at least, reduce hostility — in the Arab world. Both the governments of Jordan and Egypt, states at peace with Israel, are insistent that the United States address the Israeli-Palestinian question, otherwise, the United States risks regime change, resulting from overwhelming domestic unrest, in these longtime allies, and the United States will need assistance in Iraqi reconstruction. While the United States should not cave in to pressure, supporting the road map is the right thing to do. Israel needs the road map, because, as Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said recently, the Israeli economy is on the brink of collapse and can only be rescued through an agreement with the Palestinian
