There is plenty of skepticism, much of it well founded, about the prospects for the Middle East peace conference planned for Annapolis, MD at the end of this month, as well as a host of question marks. Even the date of the summit and when invitations will be sent out are unclear at the time of writing. Many fear the meeting will be underprepared, and that failure will launch another round of violence.

However, there is another side to the balance sheet that is worth laying out. It has become clear that the conference will not be an all-or-nothing affair and may not even address the key final issues - borders, settlements, Jerusalem, and refugees - directly. Rather, it will lay out a process and timetable for addressing those issues during the remainder of the George W. Bush presidency. And President Bush is starting on this process slightly earlier than former president Bill Clinton did during his second term. ...

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has spoken, albeit cautiously, of the prospect of "real accomplishments, perhaps even before the end of President Bush's term in office." The Palestinians would like to see firmer commitment to address final issues according to a very specific timetable, but there is a basis for negotiation here. ...

Daniel Levy, of the New America Foundation, who was part of the Israeli negotiating team at Taba in 2001, argues that Olmert has a better negotiating position than ex-premier Ehud Barak did at the start of the Camp David talks in July 2000. Barak opened with a proposal to annex 17 percent of the West Bank and, in negotiation, offered various plans that would annex 11 percent to 12 percent of the area. The contentious Israeli separation barrier encloses only 8.5 percent of the West Bank. ...

For the complete article, please follow this link.