The Bush Administration and the Peace Process: Annapolis and Beyond

On October 21, 2007, David Makovsky, Daniel Kurtzer, Jim Hoagland, and Dennis Ross addressed The Washington Institute's Weinberg Founders Conference. The following is a summary of their remarks.

In a spirited discussion moderated by Dennis Ross and David Makovsky of The Washington Insitute, former U.S. ambassador to Egypt and Israel Daniel Kurtzer and senior Washington Post foreign correspondent Jim Hoagland analyzed the issues, potential fallbacks, and priorities of the Annapolis peace summit, which was scheduled to be held a month later.

Ambassador Kurtzer argued that setting the larger framework is essential to achieving success, while Ambassador Ross emphasized the need to also achieve immediate on-the-ground results, arguing that grand promises will do little after the seven-year standstill in peace talks. Mr. Hoagland emphasized that the new external influences on the peace process, Russia's improved relations with Israel, Europe's general support for Abbas and Palestinian moderation, and Bush's desire to build his legacy could all lead to securing the status of the West Bank and even the opening of limited negotiations.

A full summary of this session can be found in the Weinberg Founders Conference proceedings, available as a free PDF download from the Washington Institute bookstore.