Posted 5/14/2003 08:42:00 AM by Ocean Guy
Who is Mahmoud Abbas?

Upon hearing Colin Powell announce a gift of $50 Million to the palestinians over the weekend I started screaming at the TV, I Knew had to take a breather. So I took a couple of days off from scrutinizing the news, specifically avoiding any mention of the Road Map. My batteries are recharged.

I'm a little concerned, no, I'm worried, about the President's rhetoric regarding the new palestinian structure. I have serious reservations about the new Prime Minister's history. Why does the President refer to one him as a man of peace? How much of the rhetoric does the President believe? Does the administration really see a change in the PLO leadership, and more importantly in their goals? Time will tell, but the rhetoric is disconcerting.

Read Uzi Landau's thoughts on Abu Mazen.

With his cultivated appearance Abu Mazen serves as a European-manipulated Trojan horse intended to mislead Americans into thinking a new prime minister means a new PA.

But the message he is bringing the Palestinian public is not fundamentally new. As long as there is no essential change in the PA, the question of its leader is merely tactical and cosmetic.

The road map in its current form was born not of President George W. Bush's determination to fight terrorism, but of the defeatist spirit and cynical interests of the Quartet.

Instead of punishing the PA for its blatant violation of Oslo and stipulating that peace hinges on replacing the Palestinian leadership, the road map grants them unprecedented gains.

For instance: the establishment of a Palestinian state as a non-negotiable principle; "ending the occupation that began in 1967"; internationalizing the conflict by giving the Quartet monitoring powers; dismantling outposts, and freezing settlements all bonuses the Palestinians didn't even receive in Oslo.