DEBKA runs a long article on factors that went into the Israeli acceptance of the roadmap. I've no idea how reliable their information is, but it's interesting. An excerpt:
When US secretary of state Colin Powell announced Friday, May 23, that a team of American âcoordinatorsâ, would be arriving in Jerusalem within a few days, he was speaking euphemistically. This team will be the nucleus of an interim administration to manage Palestinian areas where the Palestinian Authorityâs administraton has been shattered by its terror orientation. This body will resemble the US-British team provisionally administering Iraq, for which Washington expects to eventually gain a similar UN mandate.
| Now, that would be a significant development... |
One outcome of this mandate will be to eliminate the European mark on the Israel-Palestinian peace process and the Palestiniansâ future. This will be in keeping with Israelâs consistent rejection of the Palestinian demand for an international commission to monitor the Palestinian-Israeli peace. The only mediating or monitoring party Israel has ever accepted is the United States. The Europeans and UN are accused of pro-Palestinian, pro-Arab bias.
| Can't figure why that might be... |
This plan of action was made possible by the revolutionary changes overtaking Riyadh in the last few days on the heels of the al Qaeda assaults on the Saudi capital. These changes were first revealed in detail in the latest issue of DEBKA-Net-Weekly. Crown Prince Abdullah was sufficiently jolted by the terrorist strikes on his doorstep to stand up and order epic, almost unthinkable, reforms in government, overseas financing, security and relations between throne and mosque.
| So it's not just lip service this time? Wonder if the rest of the aparat will follow where he leads... |
It is too soon to say if the Crown Prince, known for his conservatism, caution and piety, can bring this program off. But one of his directives has already drastically curtailed Palestinian terrorist resources: the shutdown of all Saudi-supported overseas charities operating in Europe. This measure, DEBKAfileâs counter-terror sources reveal, was demanded by Washington after the 9/11 suicide attacks on New York and Washington. It fell on deaf ears in Riyadh â until the Saudi royal capital itself was struck by the same hand.
| That could have something to do with the intel that said the royal family was among the intended targets. Binny (or his ghost) went too far with that one... |
What it means is that the Palestinian Hamas â like al Qaeda and its international arms â has overnight lost the primary source of finance, running into tens of millions of dollar per annum, for its anti-Israel suicide campaign, whether orchestrated from Damascus or the Gaza Strip. Furthermore, the Americans hope their presence on-site will also have the effect of drying up the money supply nourishing the Fatah and al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades of Yasser Arafatâs terror machine.
| I can see the Soddies actually cutting off the funding they can find for Qaeda. I'm not too sure about their cutting it off for Hamas. If it actually happens, it'll change the face of the Middle East â the roadmap might very well work. |
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