U.S. has key role in new peace plan

The United States would take a central role in monitoring the implementation of the Israeli-Palestinian "road map" for peace, with European, United Nations and Russian diplomats playing a secondary role, according to a recently completed draft document assigning tasks to parties involved in the peace process.

The administration is withholding official publication of the peace plan, which was completed in December, until the Cabinet of the newly appointed Palestinian prime minister is confirmed, likely by next week. The administration has stressed that the plan will be issued in an unchanged form, despite Israeli concerns about some aspects.

The plan, designed to implement President Bush's call for creation of a Palestinian state within three years, envisions a three-stage process that would create Palestinian institutions, establish provisional borders for a state by the end of this year, and reach a final agreement with defined borders in 2005.

Secretary of State Colin Powell could leave as early as next week on a Middle East tour designed to relaunch the peace process, U.S. officials said Friday. Then, over the next six to eight weeks, officials hope to hold a succession of meetings in Washington with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, the Jordanian, Egyptian and Saudi foreign ministers, as well as with the envoys of Russia, the United Nations and the European Union. Along with the United States, these three entities compose what is known as the Quartet that is overseeing the peace process.

However, by enhancing the U.S. role and diluting the participation of the other Quartet members, the previously undisclosed codicil to the road map addresses a number of Israeli concerns about the group's involvement. The plan has also come under fire from U.S. conservatives for granting the Europeans, the Russians and the United Nations too much of a say in whether the peace process is working.

Under the new draft plan, the on-the-ground monitoring committee responsible for measuring performance would be chaired by a U.S. official. Virtually all aspects of the plan's implementation would be handled by the U.S.-led committee, though it would draft confidential reports that would be forwarded to representatives of the EU, the United Nations and Russia. The committee would also be responsible for its own budget, with expenses to be shared equally by the members of the Quartet.

Among the issues the U.S.-led committee would track are the implementation of security measures by the Palestinians, the reform of Palestinian security services, the building of Palestinian institutions, the reform of the Palestinian Authority's finances, the dismantling of Israeli settlement outposts erected since March 2001 and a freeze on settlement activity.

Four specialized groups would also be set up under the supervision of the U.S.-led committee, according to the document. One, on humanitarian issues, would be chaired by a European. But the key subcommittee, on security issues, will be chaired by the U.S. official heading the coordinating committee. The security panel would include the Egyptian, Jordanian and European representatives.

Two other groups would monitor Palestinian reforms and "special functions," such as settlement construction and the removal of settlement outposts.

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