SANTA: no show in Annapolis

In the Middle East, You Can't Buy Peace -Ralph Peters

It's the American way: a can-do spirit, the conviction that no problem's too tough for us. But, in the real world some foreign problems can't be resolved.

Whether the American administration is Republican or Democrat, it pressures Israel for concessions - since the Arabs won't make any.

Yes, there's merit just in bringing folks together and keeping them talking. But the baseline difficulty is that we want to solve problems for people who don't really want those problems solved.

If you want a sober perspective on the Annapolis dog-and-pony show, just ask yourself this: Who will leave disappointed, if nothing much results?

The Arabs won't care. They came because we got on our knees and begged.

The Israelis will just be relieved that their latest trip to the geostrategic dentist is over.

Any Russians soiling the furniture at the Naval Academy will be delighted if another American effort flops.

And the Europeans just popped in to check the "we care" box.

The only unhappy campers will be us. We set ourselves up. Again.

Oh, and even if there's some sort of agreement, only the Israelis will honor it.

We're dealing with people who are fighting for their lives and homes.

By electing ourselves as the Middle East's indispensable problem-solvers, we've just put ourselves on the blame line for other people's problems.

Santa won't show up at Annapolis. If he did, the best gift he could bring the Bush administration and its Democratic rivals would be a sense of reality: It's a lot easier to believe in Santa than in Arabs accepting a just peace with Israel.
(New York Post)