With a proposed Mideast peace conference in Annapolis only weeks away, the lofty goals outlined by President Bush seem to be fading beyond reach, with the meeting likely to be scaled back to a single day, according to senior U.S. officials and outside analysts.

The conference, originally expected to be set for late November, might not be held until mid-December, a State Department official hinted yesterday. Bush's spokeswoman called preparations for the conference "tenuous right now." ...

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice - who has pushed for what might be the last chance for the Bush administration to help arrest a deteriorating situation in the Middle East - has conceded that she does not expect Palestinian and Israeli negotiators to draft a joint statement before the meeting laying out "the basics of a deal" that she and others had anticipated. ...

Events could change quickly, diplomats caution, and agreements and arrangements for Annapolis could fall into place rapidly. Rice is to travel to the region this week to continue discussions, a White House official said.

But the last-minute uncertainty about the timing and substance of the Annapolis conference has renewed concerns about a failure to make progress that could energize radicals and extremists in the region, rather than galvanize moderates to work for peace, as Bush intended.

"I am worried. This is an ill-conceived and ill-prepared summit," said Daniel Levy, who was an Israeli negotiator during the last Arab-Israeli negotiations in 2002.

"You could describe Annapolis as an obstacle. How do we get to the other side without damage to the Israeli and Palestinian leadership?" Levy said this week in a briefing sponsored by the New America Foundation. ...

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