Israel's assassination move exposes Bush impotence
'But beyond exhorting both sides, the Bush Administration has limited options, unless it takes a radical step such as deploying Americans to keep the peace, said Martin Indyk, a former US ambassador to Israel. "Being upset with the Israelis will not do the work," said Indyk, now director of the Brookings Institution's Saban Centre. "They have to have an alternative to Israel taking action, and it doesn't exist. What do we do in the meantime?"'

This aspect of the Los Angeles Times report is ludicrous. What about the arms shipments (eg, the US helicopter gunships and missiles which are used in the targeted assasination program) and up to $5b in US aid to Israel annually? Israel is dependent on this. If ever the US administration is serious about Israel, all they need to do is get on the phone and state that arms and aid will be suspended. Obviously Bush has no intention of doing this, but it still might have offended even him that Sharon should have blasted to pieces the 'Road Map' only days after it was triumphantly announced and before the US co-ordinator John Wolf has even arrived in the region to begin implementing it. Of course one has to suspect that the failed assasination attempt was a calculated blow to the peace process, an arrogant and contemptous gesture. This incident (the failed Israeli assasination attempt and the Hamas suicide bomb retaliation) helps reveal the real nature of the US/Israel relationship, the phoniness of the 'peace process', and the way in which the issue is handled by the corporate media.

Israel's assassination move exposes Bush impotence
'But beyond exhorting both sides, the Bush Administration has limited options, unless it takes a radical step such as deploying Americans to keep the peace, said Martin Indyk, a former US ambassador to Israel. "Being upset with the Israelis will not do the work," said Indyk, now director of the Brookings Institution's Saban Centre. "They have to have an alternative to Israel taking action, and it doesn't exist. What do we do in the meantime?"'

This aspect of the Los Angeles Times report is ludicrous. What about the arms shipments (eg, the US helicopter gunships and missiles which are used in the targeted assasination program) and up to $5b in US aid to Israel annually? Israel is dependent on this. If ever the US administration is serious about Israel, all they need to do is get on the phone and state that arms and aid will be suspended. Obviously Bush has no intention of doing this, but it still might have offended even him that Sharon should have blasted to pieces the 'Road Map' only days after it was triumphantly announced and before the US co-ordinator John Wolf has even arrived in the region to begin implementing it. Of course one has to suspect that the failed assasination attempt was a calculated blow to the peace process, an arrogant and contemptous gesture. This incident (the failed Israeli assasination attempt and the Hamas suicide bomb retaliation) helps reveal the real nature of the US/Israel relationship, the phoniness of the 'peace process', and the way in which the issue is handled by the corporate media.