Fayyadism

Thomas Friedman can write a decent column when he writes about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict; perhaps because he has friends there, and can do a certain amount of real reporting. Perhaps because he spent so much time reporting there, he actually understands what he's writing about (which makes it exceptional).

He's back, detailing the state-building strategy of Salam Fayyad, and pointing out that in contrast to Fayyad (who is focused on building institutions) and Iran-Hamas (who are focused on destroying Israel) the U.S., Israel, and the friendly Arab states have no agenda and are muddling. Obama's administration wants to support Fayyad, but has ended up in a flap with the rudderless Netanyahu administration.

On the U.S. side, Global Review is gratified to see that the U.S. is willing to twist arms rhetorically to push the peace process forward. We just wish that Republican politicians could see past their infatuation with Israel and leave the politics at the water's edge.