Does the Road to Peace Pass Through Annapolis?

This week, representatives from many nations gather in Annapolis, Maryland for a Middle East peace conference organized by U.S. President George W. Bush.

What is the point of this meeting? The conference is intended to launch three new diplomatic processes: permanent status negotiations on Palestine; implementation of the first phase of the 2003 Quartet Roadmap; and gradual Arab-Israeli diplomatic engagement. "The idea is for the two sides to reach a peace agreement; present it to their respective publics through elections or referendums; and condition implementation on Roadmap compliance. While virtually all attention has been given to the gathering itself, therefore, what truly matters is what follows it – chiefly, whether final status talks can succeed," according to the International Crisis Group.

Can they get there? Well, that depends on who you ask. No one seems to have terribly high expectations. Here are a few opinions:

• Rami Khouri, in the Daily Star of Lebanon, offers a strong critique of this peace effort. He writes, "Nowhere in the pre-Annapolis period has there been any decisiveness or conviction, any real sign of a burning desire by the actors to make concessions, compromises, or genuine peace. The process smacks of American self-serving expediency, rather than an honest mediator's sincerity." Yet Khouri concludes that all invited Arabs should go to the event to prove the are serious about peace and to "...expose once again the vacuous and insincere nature of the Israeli and American positions."

• An editorial in the New York Times reads, "President Bush is to open the meeting with what we hope will be a precedent-setting speech. He must demonstrate that he has a clear post-Annapolis strategy and the political will — not yet evident — to keep with this throughout his last 14 months in office. A conference that withers away once the TV cameras leave Annapolis could be worse than no conference at all."

• Michael Kraig, in the Des Moines Register, says the conference "...should be a moment of hope. We would all love to see even modest steps toward peace. If some kind of agreement is reached, however, there is good reason to believe that it will not hold." He believes Iran and Syria must be part of the solution, "To succeed, the United States should try flipping its current approach. Instead of expending diplomatic efforts to further isolate Syria and Iran, why not try to engage Syria and Iran to create a beneficial regional environment, one in which there is a better chance of success between Israelis and Palestinians?"