M. Graeme Bannerman

The American presidential campaign brought a hiatus in efforts to nudge Arabs and Israelis into the process of making peace. Recent months of direct but dilatory talks confirm that the rival parties in the Middle East are still incapable of moving forward without active prodding from the United States. The Clinton diplomatic team nonetheless faces more promising opportunities for Arab-Israeli understanding than previous American administrations. Through the process that began in Madrid in 1991, long-standing rigidities are being relaxed on all sides, and the global and regional environments make peace through compromise seem more attractive than continued enmity.