Yeah, Right!

How many American Presidents have sought to leave this as their legacy?

US 'ready' to unveil Middle East talk plans

"The US is preparing to release a statement establishing details for direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, the BBC has learned.

Both the US government and other international Quartet members have been working towards a formula to persuade both sides to begin negotiations, after several months of indirect talks.

US special envoy George Mitchell has tried to establish enough trust to begin direct talks - with the ultimate aim of two states existing side by side in peace."

[---]

"The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has insisted for many weeks that he is ready to come to the negotiating table, but without preconditions.

But Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority, wants guarantees that a future Palestinian state would be based on the 1967 ceasefire lines.

He has also demanded that all construction in illegal Jewish settlements would end before he sits down with the Israelis.

The international Quartet on the Middle East, consisting of the US, the European Union, the UN and Russia, has been working hard to narrow the gap."

All the power to The One if he can pull it off (and the Quartet), but I'm not holding my breath. It does, however, kinda sorta puts his statements on the Ground Zero Mosque in a new light. Don't want to upset the apple cart when you're this close to the big prize.

And what does that say about the rumours of an Israeli strike on Iran? No reason, as far as I can tell, why it couldn't go ahead as speculated. It might even help the negotiations. And then there's Hamas. Whatever will the Gaza flotilla gang do if Hamas is emasculated and they don't have their favourite whipping boy to beat on? Or, never mind, where there's a will, there's a way. The Palestinaholics have a nice frothy head of anti-Semitism worked up. They won't let that go to waste.

More here:

"Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton had called Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad late Wednesday and spoken Thursday with Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, the special representative of the "Quartet" of Mideast peacemakers — the U.S., the U.N., the European Union and Russia.

Officials said tentative plans call for Israel, the Palestinians, the Quartet and the U.S. to release separate but near simultaneous statements saying the stalled talks will resume early next month in either the U.S. or Egypt. The U.S. statement is expected to be issued in Clinton's name."

Holding it in Egypt would be a good move, I think.

And here:

"Diplomatic sources said the draft invitation was being discussed by the so-called Quartet of powers in Middle East peace-making -- the United States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations - and may be issued by Friday afternoon."

That's tomorrow. Will it also be the day Iran gets a bomb or two or ten dropped on it?

"The Quartet in June said peace talks would be expected to conclude in 24 months. The new draft says 12 months. The Palestinian Authority government intends to have established all the attributes of statehood by mid-2011.

Diplomats say the idea that a unilateral declaration of statehood could win support if talks do not start or collapse in the next 12 months is gaining interest."

There will have to be something pretty new and startling from both sides of the divide to prevent collapse from happening, IMHO. And as far as a unilateral declaration is concerned, this bluster almost seems like a non-starter as a negotiating position. Why not just go ahead and do it? Of course, nothing will change in the realm of reality.

Oh, Snoopy the Goon. Calling Snoopy the Goon.  Please report.