Reuters

Gaza Crisis Complicates U.S. Peace Efforts (Reuters Africa)

...Several Middle East experts said the United States was naive in believing it could ignore Hamas.

"Wishing Gaza away will not work," said Daniel Levy, a former Israeli negotiator now with the New America Foundation.

"You have to somehow have an arrangement that does not exclude Hamas and invite them to be the spoiler. If you don't do that, the elephant will keep sticking its trunk out the room… more

U.S. budget gap set to climb steeply this year (The Guardian) ... Referring to the prospects of growing budget deficits this year, Maya MacGuineas, head of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, said, "Every billion is a big deal."

Israel confirmed on Friday that the United States asked it to explain a plan to build new homes on occupied land in the Jerusalem area, a move Palestinians say could wreck peace talks launched just last week in Washington.

A senior aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said asking for explanations was not enough and demanded that U.S. President George W. Bush's administration force Israel to abide by an agreement to halt all Jewish settlement activity. ...

The United States agreed at… more

The United States hopes one byproduct of its Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking will be a moderate Arab alliance to counter Iran's influence in the region, but analysts are skeptical the strategy will work. ...

While welcoming greater U.S. involvement, many analysts are curious why the Bush administration is only now connecting the Israeli-Palestinian crisis with other regional problems.

"My first response is 'Good morning.' It took you seven years to recognize that," said Daniel Levy, a former Israeli negotiator now with the New America… more

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice meets Israeli and Palestinian leaders this weekend to craft a joint document ahead of a peace conference but she has intentionally set expectations low.

U.S. officials expect Rice's third visit in six weeks to the region will result in a document filled with general principles to kick off negotiations on a Palestinian state, but with few hard-core specifics. ...

Rice is due to arrive in Jerusalem late on Saturday after attending an Iraq conference in… more

The price of the world's most expensive security blanket -- the U.S. defense budget -- is growing robustly just as Washington can least afford it, with an aging population soon demanding their promised retirement and health benefits, lawmakers and independent analysts said.

The U.S. Senate on Wednesday was poised to approve nearly $460 billion to allow the the Pentagon to pay soldiers, buy weapons and conduct research over the next 12 months.

That's up from about $335 billion when President George W.… more

Reuters quotes Daniel Levy on the upcoming, U.S.-moderated meeting between Israeli and Palestinian leaders:

With expectations raised for the conference, experts warn that if it fails, it could serve only to damage peace efforts and further destabilize the region.

"Attempted peacemaking, if ill-conceived, can be as risky and destabilizing as war-making," said Daniel Levy, a former negotiator for the Israelis who is now with the New America foundation, a think-tank in Washington.

Daniel Levy is a Senior Fellow with the American Strategy… more

Private equity firms suddenly short on big buyout targets are revisiting an elusive goal -- the privatization of infrastructure.

The crumbling network of roads, ports and bridges have previously intrigued private equity, but a political backlash derailed a wave of anticipated deals sparked by the Chicago Skyway lease for $2 billion in 2005.

Cash-strapped states might now reconsider their aversion, especially if private equity firms are willing to spend as enthusiastically for infrastructure assets as they were before a credit… more

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A goal of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's Middle East trip this week is to win Arab support for a proposed conference on Israeli-Palestinian peace moves, but details for that meeting are scant.U.S. President George W. Bush announced the meeting would take place before the end of this year as part of what the White House said was a big new initiative to revive the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.Rice will be in Egypt and… more

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Facing growing consumer concern over soaring costs, America's health insurers are more eager to participate in reform now than in the 1990s, but they will still fight any attempt to reduce their profits, policy experts say...Unlike a decade ago, big business, consumers and unions say the growing crisis in America's health-care system, which is dominated by the private sector, must be dealt with. And the insurance lobby has stepped forward with a plan that includes… more