PLATFORM : Greater Purpose

As historian Shelby Foote pointed out, Abraham Lincoln changed America’s political as well as social landscape when he issued the Emancipation Proclamation. He struck down the threat that England might enter the war on the side of the South, and he gave the North’s effort conscience.

President Bush could similarly give greater meaning to the cause against Saddam Hussein by calling for a conference on the Palestinian question and announcing that his Administration will play a leading role in the effort. The conference would serve an even greater purpose if it were held before the Iraqis are evicted from Kuwait. A conference now would further isolate Saddam Hussein.

The only nation likely to object would be Israel, and its interests are so narrow in comparison with the immense political value of this initiative that the Israelis should be sidestepped. A Palestinian conference will have to take place sooner or later, and there is much to be gained by doing it sooner.