Division of Labor

I like the new strategy for getting to Sharon and Arafat; instead of the US playing a mediating role and pretending to be neutral, the US will team up with Saudi Arabia et al, like two groups of friends cooperating to get a friend from each group out of the fight. The Arabs will try and convince Arafat and others to back off, and the Bush administration will do the same with our ally Sharon. Though it may not get results, this is less likely to backfire on the US - if we're seen as pulling Israel more than pushing Palestine, that helps our image in the eyes of Arabs and the world in general. Likewise, if the Arab states position themselves to the centre of Arafat, pulling him forward rather than back, they'll seem more rational and are more likely to be able to make a seperate peace with Israel, which is key to forcing the Palestinians to agree to a compromise. OK, maybe this whole plan won't be executed, and maybe it is the result of the long-term alliance between the House of Saud and the House of George, but