A Bridge To Peace

Clinton, however, is clinging to the hope that Barak's and Arafat's clocks are finally synchronized. Five months ago, at Camp David, Barak was ready to reach a deal but Arafat wasn't. Today, Barak has calculated that he can't win re-election unless he has a peace agreement, so he's willing to make more concessions. Believing Arafat now has to show his people some results for the heavy price they've paid during the Aqsa intifadeh, Washington hopes he sees this as his best chance for quick international recognition of the Palestinian state he craves.

George W. Bush has given Clinton the green light to reach a deal. But if Jan. 20 passes without one, Arafat knows it will take Bush some time before his diplomatic team will probably be ready to broker an accord. And if Sharon wins in Israel, that day may never come. Perhaps that's what Arafat wants. But, as Clinton mused at a press conference last week, "we're all operating under a deadline. It's just some of us know what our deadline is."