Expectations for This Week's Meetings at the White House with Ariel Sharon

It is our hope that during today’s meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Sharon, President Bush will choose to stand firmly with our longtime ally, Israel. Pressuring Israel about settlements in the West Bank will do little to stop the influx of terrorism over the last twenty months. Yasser Arafat, in his rhetorical hate speech is looking for a stance at the bargaining table. The issue of Israeli settlements in the West Bank is just the issue to give some credence to the terroristic claims of the Palestinian leadership.

Messrs. Bush and Sharon must stand together and state that if the Palestinians want to get anything in the way of rights or for that matter, land; they must shirk their violent and terror-prone leaders.

In the news today we see that the issue of the settlements in the West Bank is confusing to even those within the Bush Administration. Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice offered vastly different views on the settlements while making rounds on yesterday’s talk show circuit. Secretary of State Powell sees the issue of the Israeli settlements as a key point in the peace process. Condoleezza Rice, who we see as one of the sharper pencils in the box, correctly sees a solution in dealing with the settlements only after the Palestinian terror ceases. As a quick recap, the Israeli settlements are communities built on land captured in the 1967 war with the surrounding Arab nations- mainly the West Bank and Gaza,

The issue need not be confused by bringing an admittedly complex subject to the negotiating table. The point needing attention is Yasser Arafat’s hand in managing the reign of terror unleashed against the Israeli people.

Stephen A. McDonald Bigtreenews.com