🚀 go-pugleaf

Akiva Eldar, Ha'aretz, 4/6/03
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=280505

During his visit to Washington, Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom could have
taken a lesson about the war on the road map from Congressman Roy Blunt - a
leader of the Republican faction who is close to President Bush. Blunt has
joined forces with Tom Lantos, the Democratic minority leader on the House
Foreign Affairs Committee, to stall the road map. Even AIPAC people, who
have been pointing out the plan's flaws to members of Congress, could not
have anticipated such solid support.

The two Congressmen have begun collecting their colleagues' signatures on a
letter saying that, until further notice, Israel is exempt from any
responsibility for altering the situation in the territories. There is no
mention of easing living conditions for the civilian population or of a
settlement freeze. They cite several principles that must be met before
"the Palestinian people begin to see some of their political aspirations
realized" and before "we can expect Israel to respond with concrete
actions"

The letter ignores the declarations of the American Secretary of State and
National Security Adviser that the road map is not open to revision. It
asks the president to reject the basic principle of the road map - a
timeline for an IDF withdrawal from the territories, for the establishment
of a provisional Palestinian state and for negotiations on a final status
accord. The authors are adopting Ariel Sharon's position, which says that
the transition from one stage of the road map to another will be made
solely on the basis of "performance reviews"