European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 30, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse Comments Stephen s. Rosenfeld Arob Lar Deli dispute Ripe for o settlement i of i in i ill a uproar Ovi of the steam in amen can Lar Ali relations is the act Ali in George Mush a poll by is working lie his shown doubting israelis my arabs alike that he is Able to put american hell behind a principled Long standing internationally supported american position crucial to diplomatic Progress. Not that peace is at hand a far from it. But Mush is forcing the Issue on which a along with the Issue of credible Arab acceptance of Israel a the whole Prospect of a negotiated Exchange of land for peace depends. He is doing so moreover with overwhelming approval from the american Public. Beneath the anger and confusion in Israel the debate there is beginning to turn from whether there will be a settlements freeze to How such a development might come about at minimal Cost to the leadership a political standing and the country s negotiating position. An israeli poll finds a Strong 57 percent majority in favor of halting settlements to secure the loan guarantees. In Washington the Bush administration seems to lean toward an option that would Sec Israel go to a peace conference proposing its own freeze in return for an end to the Arab Boycott. Such a policy would Force an israeli political showdown splitting the ruling liked Down the Middle which prime minister Yitzhak Shamir straddle Between its hard line pragmatists and its harder line ideologists. The United states has brought things this far but at an evident Cost in israeli Confidence. Part of this loss is the unavoidable and bearable consequence of the administrations seriousness about settlements. But another part flows from lapses in tone and tactics by Bush and Secretary of state James a. Baker Iii and must be repaired. Two considerations stand out. First How assertive a role is the United states to play at a peace conference israelis several decades of evasion on settlements left Washington no Choice but to press its own View in order to Start up a conference propitious by. But undeniably this Choice raises the question of whether Washington is going to impose a solution. This is what energizes israelis wildly inflated but palpable fear of a cold relentless Bush Baker squeeze. In fact both arabs and israelis Are deeply ambivalent about american assertiveness. They both desire and fear a Strong brokers hand depending on whether it is applied to their advantage. For americans the requirement is not so much to be consistent or to split every Arab israeli difference mechanically As to be fair minded and sensible. At the moment what is most in evidence is the pain that israeli annexation lists Are going to suffer in trimming Back their West Bank ambitions. But later on the Public focus is bound to shift to the i would say greater pain that palestinian nationalists Are going to have to absorb in trimming Back theirs. Second should there be with or without a Strong american hand a comprehensive american plan in a Way the answer is obvious. Many elements of a peace Are already in the accepted International Domain the Arab states As Well As the palestinians must be brought in contacts and Borders opened arms controlled a single economic space created International guarantees provided and so on. A a a plan comes Down to the status of the West Bank. There is reason for the United states to leave this tenderest of elements to the parties so As to ensure their commitment to the process and fruit of a negotiation. Especially is this so in the Early stages when under the agreed american sponsored approach self Rule tops the Agenda discussion of a final status is to come Only later. But that discussion cannot be Long delayed it is obvious that israelis Are every bit As eager As palestinians to know where self Rule is meant to Lead. I think the Way to approach this killer Issue is less with a plan than a principle Mutual consent. For the last 24 years. Israel has been dictating its own West Bank solution. That must change but palestinians cannot then expect to dictate theirs. I would argue that the most promising line of Compromise is for Israel to retain a right of settlement in the West Bank while palestinians reclaim a right of return to pre-1%7 Israel under agreed numbers and terms. There Are other views. The underlying Point remains that Moscow a Retreat and Baghdad a defeat have made the Arab israeli dispute As a a Ripe for settlement As any realistic person could ask. The very Arab weakness that makes peace possible also inclines israelis wary liked to claim it is unnecessary. There is the further danger that arabs May be. In Charles de Paul let a phrase a too weak to but these cannot be taken As obstacles beyond conquering Only As cares on a difficult Road. C thu Washington Post Anthony Lewis Linton says he won t be Tilting at windmills can the governor of one of the smallest poorest states in the South win the democratic nomination for president can he if he is an intellectual a one time Rhodes scholar a Yale Law graduate if he has a certain detachment a sense of humor about his ambition gov. Bill Clinton of Arkansas is about to find out. He has scheduled a news conference for thursday to announce his plans and nobody doubts that he is going to go. After a speech to the National newspaper association in Little Rock he was surrounded by local reporters. A can you beat George Bush a one asked. A not tomorrow a he said. A a that a what we have elections Clinton talked about the issues. Then Bill Simmons chief of the associated press Bureau in Little Rock said a a 1 hat sounds awfully High minded for a Competition that can be settled on Willie the governor replied that the Willie Horton tactic in the 1 Tosh Bush Campaign could have been handled a by answering it directly and addressing the real Issue of crime and people s fear of it later in a conversation inboard a plane. Clinton talked about the irrelevance and ugliness of recent campaigns. A maybe you have to be crazy to run Tor president these Days a anybody who files should be disqualified a he said with a smile. A but i done to see this As a Don Quixote venture a he went on. Lie told a Story about a policeman who drove with him on a recent visit to Houston a Man 27 years on the Force who called himself a conservative. A i saw you on a Span a the policeman said. A you going to run for president a a do you think i have a Chance to win a Clinton replied. A hell no with that War and All. A As they drove along the governor asked what issues the policeman would use if he were running. The policeman talked about economic stress stagnant wages the Ever rising Cost of health care. And those Are some of the very issues that Clinton can win the 1w2 election with if he manages to focus the Campaign on them. Quot people now believe the presidency is about foreign policy a the governor said. A but that s not what they really care about in their own lives. A i basically agree with . Dionne a argument in his Book that the recent elections have Given americans false choices. The republicans won by dividing us a by saying a if you re for civil rights you re pro quota a if you want government to help solve problems you re for More taxing and a so the democrats lost the elections but the people lost the aftermath. In i9hh, americans knew the cold War was Over. They wanted to move on from Reagan. Bush knew that a its Why he talked about being the education president the environment president. But he won on a read my lips and plastic surgery on Dukakis. A Bush was hurl by the Way he won that election. He was below 50 percent in the polls in 1w0, but he was saved by Saddam the next Campaign Clinton said should be about How to rebuild this country a internal strength so it can live up to its vision of itself and carry out its responsibilities in the world. A we h ave no strategy for our economic future a he said. Quot we have the biggest underclass of any major country. The Middle class is under stress. The Reagan Bush policy is just keep inflation Down reduce government. I just done to think that will Cut a couple travelling in the plane came up to Clinton and thanked him for his education programs a which have been a principal feature of his years As governor. Their two children had been helped by the higher school standards they said and had won College sch flagships. Education should be a a or National emphasis Clinton said sending a child to College today lakes three times the percentage of family income that it did a few years ago. He spoke of a new National program of College Loans to be repaid out of graduates income of by doing National service. The Reagan Mush Effort to reduce Federal support Itu College students was a nutty a he said. A a the Brilliant achievement of the Ren Gan Bush Clinton said a has been to disable the pie Sidney on the Domestic front. There is a meat Nejl to c that now. Quot the primaries could Deline the issues Tor the Genc Al election present the real choices this country bikes. Bush May win in the end because people see him As Haung the experience in foreign Polar. But the worst that could happen is to make him a better pies Lent in a second term
