It was a well-timed description of Netanyahu. Bibi spent Tuesday as the guest of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, while managing to make a less-than-diplomatic reply to Palestinian demands for a declaration of statehood. We cannot accept... the formation of a new Iraq or Iran next to our doorstep, Netanyahu told reporters. Weizman must have loved that one.
Washington, meanwhile, is doing what it can to cajole Israel into a deal. This week Al Gore attends Israels 50th birthday party; next week Madeleine Albright flies to London for separate talks with the two sides. By that time, the clock will be ticking on the last 12 months before the Oslo accords peace deadline. And for all the misty-eyed recollections of David Ben-Gurions dream offered by President Clinton, no progress has yet been made on a crucial West Bank compromise. Clinton and Arafat want Israel to withdraw from 13 percent of the region; Netanyahu wont go higher than 9 percent. No wonder Albright says the negotiations are going round in circles. That's one trip where accidents are bound to happen.