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OP-ED
"A 'Road Map' for
Israeli-Palestinian Amity"
The Wall Street Journal
February 13, 2003
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By ZBIGNIEW BRZEZINSKI and
BRENT SCOWCROFT
WASHINGTON -- In a speech last June, President Bush put forward for
the first time an American commitment to the emergence of a "viable,
credible, Palestinian state." A quartet, comprised of the U.S., the
U.N., the European Union and Russia, is now working on a road map to
implement the president's vision. Key to its success are those
measures that will not only assure Israel's security but also define
the kind of state Palestinians can look toward.
* * *
As the president declared, the Palestinian people deserve leadership
and institutions not tainted by terrorism and corruption. It is a goal
the U.S. should continue to encourage vigorously, yet without
conditioning a resumption of the peace process on the replacement of a
particular individual. To do so is to invite resistance from those in
the Palestinian population who desire change in their leadership and
accountable governance, but do not wish to be seen as doing a foreign
country's bidding. It is also unnecessary: If reforms bring about
political changes, specific outcomes (i.e., the leadership produced by
the reformed system) will be of decidedly lesser importance.
Nothing is better calculated to encourage change within Palestinian
society, and to induce Palestinians to demand an end to terror
bombings and other forms of violence, than a peace process that holds
out a credible promise of a truly viable Palestinian state.
The U.S. should take the lead in articulating that vision.
Specifically, we urge the administration to spell out that the
agreement envisioned by the U.S. should result in:
• Two independent states with boundaries approximating the pre-June
1967 borders with territorial adjustments that are the result of
negotiation and not unilateral annexation. In effect, the Palestinian
"right of return" to Israel would be exchanged for Israel's
relinquishing of the settlements, except on those territories
exchanged by mutual agreement.
• Arrangements for Jerusalem that accommodate two separate
sovereignties while -- insofar as possible -- keeping the city
physically undivided.
• Relief and justice for Palestinian refugees in ways that do not
threaten Israel's demographic balance (e.g., a "right of return"
applied to the new Palestinian state and generous international
funding for repatriation, resettlement and compensation.
• A protection regime for sites deemed holy by Jews, Christians and
Moslems.
• Agreement on arrangements for internal and external security.
All previous efforts to end the violence and turn to a political
process have failed because each side has maintained that the first
step must be taken by the other. If the road map is not to encounter
the same fate, the U.S. and its partners must insist on a 100%
Palestinian Authority effort to end violence that is unconditional and
independent of actions demanded of Israel. They must similarly insist
on an unconditional cessation of Israeli settlement expansion
(including so-called natural growth) that is independent of actions
required of Palestinians.
This parallelism is not to suggest moral equivalence. It is to
recognize that no peace talks are possible if Palestinians fail to
exert 100% effort to halt terrorism or if Israel continues to encroach
on Palestinian lives and property.
The road map should present specific standards of compliance for the
Palestinians with regard to their efforts to stop terror and for the
Israelis with respect to ending settlements. It should spell out
clearly what each side must do in order to be deemed in compliance,
and there must be an independent mechanism to monitor implementation.
There is no national security reason for the U.S. to delay such a
proposal. Indeed, there are important security reasons to spell out,
without further delay, the broad shape of the peace agreement for
which the U.S. intends to work. Arab countries and much of the Muslim
world, as well as most European countries, see a direct link between
their ability to be more forthcoming in supporting U.S. goals in Iraq
and our commitment to working for a fair settlement of the
Israel-Palestinian conflict.
Phase II of the proposed road map, designed to create a Palestinian
state with "provisional borders," may well be one phase too many, for
it is more likely to prevent the parties from ever getting to Phase
III, in which permanent status issues are to be resolved. The time,
energy, and political capital spent on "provisional borders" are far
better invested in negotiations for permanent borders. The resumption
of effective security cooperation in Phase I, facilitated by
internationally appointed monitors, should enable the parties to turn
directly to permanent status issues. And the more detailed parameters
of the president's two-state vision would help give the parties a
workable framework within which to come to closure. Provisional
boundaries are a dangerous distraction.
* * *
In sum, we believe that by more clearly defining the road map's
destination, the U.S. and its partners can frame eventual permanent
status negotiations in a manner that promotes a sustainable two-state
outcome consistent with both sides' interests, that associates them
with the moderate majorities in both camps, and that encourages
Palestinians to undertake fundamental changes in their institutions.
It would also facilitate international cooperation with the U.S. in
its war on terrorism and in its efforts to encourage democracy
world-wide.
Mr. Brzezinski was national security adviser to President Jimmy
Carter. Mr. Scowcroft was national security adviser to Presidents
Gerald Ford and George Bush Sr. This essay is based on recommendations
that emerged from a Council on Foreign Relations roundtable.
Updated February 13, 2003
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