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Analysis: Palestinian Suicide Bombings Delay President Bush's Middle East Peace Initiative Announcement
All Things Considered: June 19, 2002
 Israel - U.S. Reaction
ROBERT SIEGEL, host:
From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Robert Siegel.
LIANE HANSEN, host:
And I'm Liane Hansen.
Today in Jerusalem, a man ran up to a bus stop and detonated explosives, killing at least seven people. It's the second suicide bombing in the city in as many days. The attack came hours after Israel announced it would reoccupy Palestinian areas until such attacks stop. Israeli tanks did roll into several Palestinian cities today. Palestinians also reported Israeli missile strikes in Gaza. In response to the new cycle of violence, President Bush has postponed a peace initiative he was expected to announce this week. NPR's Jennifer Ludden reports.
JENNIFER LUDDEN reporting:
White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said the president wants his vision for a Palestinian state to be heard and resonate. And if he laid it out today, it would not.
Mr. ARI FLEISCHER (White House Spokesman): I think in the immediate aftermath of these attacks, it's obvious that the immediate aftermath is not the right time. The president knows what he wants to say, and the president will share it when the president believes the time is right to share it so it can do the most good.
LUDDEN: Fleischer repeated what has become a White House mantra: `The US understands Israel's right to defend itself, but its leaders should bear in mind the consequences of their actions.' Given the lack of US condemnation of Israel's military actions, Fleischer was asked what exactly are those consequences. He replied the worst would be a loss of hope, and the president wants to prevent that. Fleischer once again called on Yasser Arafat to do more to stop suicide bombings.
Mr. FLEISCHER: These actions threaten a radicalism in place of a government. And radicalism cannot be the future for the Palestinian people, in the president's opinion. The only path to peace lies through political solutions, and people who carry out these attacks represent a radical threat to the forces that the president hopes will be created on the Palestinian side that will work toward peace.
LUDDEN: Officials have suggested the president wants to propose a transitional Palestinian state, with the final peace deal dependent upon democratic reform in the Palestinian Authority. But officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, say the details are still being debated. What's more, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has ruled out any form of Palestinian statehood for now, and his new policy of reoccupying Palestinian areas would seem to block it outright. Shibley Telhami, of the University of Maryland, says at the least it complicates what the Bush administration may propose.
Mr. SHIBLEY TELHAMI (University of Maryland): I mean, frankly, they're so fearful of failure in any case, the idea that they would put forth a partially cooked plan that is not likely to work and then expect that they're going to reap political benefits to the extent that there are some political calculations involved, I think is hard to imagine. So there's no question in my mind that there is some rethinking of some of the ideas that they were contemplating only last week.
LUDDEN: James Steinberg, of The Brookings Institution, says some in the administration may worry proposing a Palestinian state now would reward terrorism, and so it's best to wait. But he believes the exact opposite is true.
Mr. JAMES STEINBERG (The Brookings Institution): The problem with waiting is that it makes all of the parties hostage to fortune and hostage to those who most want to see the violence continue. In some respects, this almost gives an incentive to the suicide bombers who don't want to see the peace process move forward to continue their efforts. If they know by continuing bombings that they can block a meaningful peace initiative, then they will want to continue to try to do that.
LUDDEN: As for Israel's rolling reoccupation, Steinberg says it needn't rule out a peace initiative. He says Israel is acting in the absence of another alternative; making it more urgent than ever that Mr. Bush provide one. For now, though, the president's speech on Mideast policy is on hold, along with a planned trip to the region by Secretary of State Colin Powell. Jennifer Ludden, NPR News, Washington.
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