The Clintons' Palestine message

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The Clintons' Palestine message | tipulated: Hillary Rodham Clinton Set sae he let Bodie word on advance her husband's policies and interests.

Therefore, her decision last week to declare via global satellite, "I think that it will be in the long-term interest of the William Safire Middle East for Palestine to be a state" must be taken as a calculated move by both Clintons to ratchet up the pressure on Israel. self-government, and that statehood's "We have been waiting for such a sig- sovereignty would enable Yasser Arafat nal from any American administration to make alliances with Iraq and others to for a long time," responded the leading threaten Israel's security.

Arab spokesperson here. Hillary's signal To be realistic, statehood is in the was unambiguous; she used the word cards. But no responsible Israeli leader "state" nine times in promulgating the can let it be taken for granted because it Clinton policy. is a significant card to play.

That major On cue, the presidential press secre- concession to Palestinian aspirations tary then dismissed the first lady's care- would demonstrate Israel's willingness fully crafted statement as the uncleared to take a great risk for peace. mouthings of some ditzy spouse who Pundits like Tom Friedman and me would not again be "venturing into the can include statehood in a mock "final Middle East peace process anytime agreement," and even Arik Sharon can soon." Supposedly not official adminis- hint at something like it if circumscribed tration policy. with conditions and defensible borders.

But the Clintons' message was But Prime Minister Netanyahu cannot received exactly as the presidential cou- throw away that enormous concession ple intended: unless Israel obeyed the while Arafat demands the whole West Clinton summons to a summit at which Bank and Jerusalem as his capital.

Washington would decide exactly how Nor can any mediator, especially the much territory Israel would hand over to superpower that will have to guarantee a the Palestinians, the United States final agreement, allow itself to show any would escalate its intervention. bias in these final, comprehensive nego- Not only would the world's superpow- tiations.

Thats plain bad mediating, er "re-examine its approach, as betraying a prejudice to determine the Secretary of State Albright warned.

The outcome -- an intrusion into the negotia- Clintons have signaled they are pre- tion that precludes agreement between pared to go further — to dictate not just the parties. the scope of interim steps, but to impose That's what the Clintons have just terms of the final settlement. done.

They must have thought it was Palestinian statchood is an issue that pretty shrewd, sending her out with a has up to now been reserved for the final message to weaken the Israeli position talks. Israel takes the position that that the president could then deny. But Palestinian autonomy should suffice for the denial was not merely implausible; it was laughable.

A little duplicity in diplo- macy is sometimes tolerable, but this was Amateur Night. Does a professional mediator subtly lean on both sides, creating formulations that save face and encourage movement? Yes.

Should the mediator lose patience, abrogate a solemn assurance recently given one side, trap itself into a fixed- percentage criterion, and tell that side take-it-or-leave-it? Not unless it wants a scapegoat. The Clintons' calculated fit of pique was an invitation to impasse.

Could any Israeli leader come meekly, hat in hand, to accept terms - after being publicly humiliated first by Albright on an inter- im step and then by the powerful Clinton on the final agreement? Of course not; mediation by paroxysm was doomed. In the Middle East, if anybody loses, nobody wins, and if anybody wins, every- body loses.

This is no time for a reassess- ment snit or to let loose Carville on Bibi.• How can we help Clinton be the Comeback Kid? Hire a heavyweight pro. Dennis is tired and Madeleine needs help. At the Reagan Building dinner, there was George Shultz. As secretary of state, he made two huge pro-Arafat mistakes, but still the Israelis trust him.

A skilled negotiator with an iron butt, he has the good sense to credit the president with the glory. Clinton's statehood statement through Hillary launched final-status talks inauspiciously. But the mediation game can still be won if he gets some talent off the bench. › Safire writes from Washington for The New York Times.

Cite this item

"The Clintons' Palestine message," Roanoke Times, 13 December 1998. Covering Palestine archive, CP-1998-016. https://coveringpalestine.org/archive/cp-1998-016