EDITORIAL: Late Arrival

Jan 18, 05:50 AM

Jan. 18--President Bush concluded an eight-day swing through the Middle East this week with a promise -- "When I say I'm coming back to stay engaged, I mean it." Considering what he expects to accomplish and the time left in his presidency, the president may have to spend every waking moment engaged in creating the Middle East of his vision.

In his first presidential visit to Israel and the West Bank, Bush reiterated the need for Palestinians to have a state of their own alongside a secure Israel. The road to two states and peaceful coexistence is littered with the ruins of numerous peace initiatives. The issues at the core of the conflict, such as Israeli settlements in the West Bank, the division of Jerusalem and the right of return to Palestinian refugees, have proved intractable.

The complexity and passions involved have always demanded the leadership and the persistent mediating influence of an engaged White House. Unfortunately, until the conference in Annapolis, Md., late last fall, the Bush White House had not exerted that critical leadership.

With barely a year left in his tenure, the president's belated diplomatic push to rally regional support for peace talks carried an air of unreality. Bush urged Israeli and Palestinian leaders to complete an accord before he leaves office. Yet the obstacles to a quick settlement of the decades-old conflict were grimly evident even as he spoke.

In the volatile Gaza Strip, violence took its toll. Hamas militants continued to launch rocket attacks into Israel, and Israeli forces responded with deadly air raids. In the West Bank, Palestinians complained about the expansion of Jewish settlements. Evident, too, was the weakness of the leaders charged with negotiating peace. Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, has virtually no influence with Hamas. Ehud Olmert, the Israeli prime minister, lost part of his coalition government.

Failing for seven years to exert leadership on the Israeli-Palestinian problem, Bush is paying the price -- the widespread skepticism among allies and foes alike in the Middle East that he will use the full power of his office to press relentlessly for peace.

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