Only Peace Formula That Can Work : Israel, Palestinians and Jordan are integral to process

The U.S.-Israel strategic alliance that was first proclaimed during the Ronald Reagan Administration has received a ringing re-endorsement from President Clinton. During his White House meeting with Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, the President emphatically “renewed America’s unshaken pledge to maintain and enhance Israel’s qualitative security edge” even as the difficult but promising process of trying to achieve a settlement of the long Israeli-Arab conflict goes forward.

As always, physical security remains Israel’s paramount concern. Tangible assurances that the country will have the means to deter attack, and if attacked, to defeat its attackers, are fundamental if Israeli public opinion is to remain behind Rabin’s efforts to dramatically change the status quo. There is of course no such thing as absolute security, for any country. What can be achieved is a level of strength that is sufficiently impressive to encourage taking some risks for peace. The United States can play a key role in helping Israel maintain that degree of national self-confidence.

The evolving new agreement to bolster Israel’s already powerful air force--possibly with advanced long-range F-15E bombers--and provide other sophisticated weaponry and support materiel is meant to address the strategic threat posed by such avowed enemies of Israel as Iraq and Iran. Dealing with the ugly daily realities of low-level acts of terrorism--street crimes with a political objective, really--is something that can be done only by Israelis and, increasingly, by Palestinians who support peace efforts. Clinton was quite right to note that Yasser Arafat, who as chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization has committed himself to the peace process, is “duty bound to condemn” the Palestinian violence that seeks to sabotage the peace process by turning the Israeli public against it. Next month the challenge of maintaining civic order in the Gaza Strip--where both anti-Israeli and internecine violence is especially severe--and in Jericho is scheduled to be assumed by a police force under PLO control. In the absence of a condemnation by Arafat of recent violence, Israeli misgivings about this plan could grow.

Meanwhile, impressive gains for peace have been made on another front. A month ago Jordan and Israel signed an agenda for their peace talks. Since then there has been a series of secret high-level meetings between King Hussein and top Israeli officials and clear movement on such vital issues as water sharing and economic cooperation. Jordan, left to itself, could probably reach a comprehensive peace with Israel in days. Parliamentary elections last week resulted in a notable strengthening of the pro-peace forces that approve of the king’s policies and a commensurate loss of strength by Islamic fundamentalists.

The king blundered badly two years ago when, out of weakness, he backed Iraq’s aggression against Kuwait. Now he deserves Washington’s warm support for his willingness to move boldly toward a settlement with Israel. U.S. support should include, perhaps above all, trying to persuade Saudi Arabia and the smaller Persian Gulf states to resume their economic aid to Jordan. Help for Israel, for the Palestinians and for Jordan is now all of a piece. And help for all is integral to making the peace process succeed.