Middle East Too Little, Too Late, Too Vague

Peering out at the assembled Palestinians in the domed auditorium of the Club des Pins convention center, Yasser Arafat donned a pair of spectacles and began reading softly from the document he held in his hands. Then the Palestine Liberation Organization chairman's voice suddenly rose in a crescendo and his right arm chopped the air. "In the name of God, and in the name of the Palestinian Arab people," Arafat shouted into the microphone, "the Palestine National Council announces the establishment of the state of Palestine, with holy Jerusalem as its capital."

For all the fanfare at last week's gathering of...