Dishonest Broker.

• Author: Rothschild, Matthew
• Position: Comment - Viewpoint essay

At Annapolis, President Bush played favorites. In subtle and not-so-subtle ways, he demonstrated et again that the United States is a dishonest broker in the Middle East.

"Terrorism is the enemy standing in the way" of a Palestinian state, he said.

He did not say, "Occupation is the enemy standing in the way."

He put the onus on Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to "dismantle the infrastructure of terror," something Abbas is not strong enough to do. He said Abbas offers Palestinians "a vision of peace, a homeland of their own, and a better life." But he warned: "If responsible Palestinians cannot deliver on this hopeful vision, then the forces of extremism and terror will be strengthened, a generation of Palestinians could be lost to the extremists, and the Middle East will grow in despair."

And it will all be their fault, Bush implied.

By contrast, Bush went easy on Israel.

First, he essentially ruled out of order any discussion of the right of return when he said the final settlement will establish Israel "as a Jewish state and homeland for Jewish people." That formulation was a precondition that Israel's far-right Deputy Prime Minister Avigdor Lieberman demanded, and Bush handed it to him, even though this was supposed to be one of the "core issues" to be negotiated.

In so doing, Bush was merely reiterating the concession he gave Ariel Sharon back in April 2004 when Bush said in a letter that the Palestinian refugees would have to be resettled in a new Palestinian state as opposed to being able to reclaim their land or homes.

At Annapolis, Bush also low-balled Israeli obligations by saying Israel must show its support for the creation of a Palestinian state only "by removing unauthorized outposts, ending settlement expansion, and finding other ways for the Palestinian Authority to exercise its responsibilities without compromising Israel's security."

But the road map, which Bush and Rice have paid so much lip service to recently, says Israel must dismantle all settlements--not just outposts--that were erected after March 2000. So Bush, on day one of this new initiative, is allowing Israel to renege.

This makes a mockery of the joint statement that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Abbas signed, committing both parties to "continue the implementation of the ongoing obligations of the road map." And guess who will referee this implementation? "The United States will monitor and judge the fulfillment of the commitment of both sides of the...