Beyond Arafat on the Road to Peace.

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Chances like this aren't likely to come again in Mr. Sharon's lifetime. If he wants to avoid Mr. Arafat's fate - dying as a former hero turned obstacle to his people's progress - he has to take advantage of it. As Israel's greatest friend, the United States must do everything it can to make that happen. Unfortunately, Bush officials are tap-dancing, spouting the same tired excuses that America can't do anything to restart the road map to peace until Palestinian extremists end their violence against Israel, and until Palestine has a leader America can trust.

No surprises here. These excuses will be spouted by US officials as long as there isn´t a leadership in Israel that wants peace instead of more land and continued conflict. After all, according to both leading Democrats and Republicans, the United States is loyal to Israel.