STATE Official: "We never suspected this is what they meant by 'Birth Pangs' of the New Middle East"

From the Middle East Policy Survey: (Excerpts)

The unexpectedly swift and complete rout of Fatah by Hamas in Gaza last week caused US officials to try to find ways to salvage some gains from the new situation. To begin with, seniorUS officials say that this outcome has, in the words or one suchofficial, "...shocked everyone into unifying behind Abu Mazen." This includes Israelis as well as Arabs, Europeans as well as Americans. "Even the Israelis realize that if they don't improve life for the Palestinians, in two years they will have a repetition of Gaza in the West Bank."

Although the crisis forced Secretary of State Rice to cancel a planned trip to theMiddle East, Egypt quickly organized a summit meeting in Cairo ...will demonstrate, at the very least, thateveryone views Abu Mazen as the last, best hope for the region, "says one key US official. "It also demonstrates that Hamas this summer, like Hezbollah last summer, may well have overplayed its hand."

(Blair)"...will be working with people who can'tdeliver," notes one US analyst. "Abu Mazen has repeatedly shown timidity and Olmert isn't much better." Criticism of Abu Mazen is nothing new and Olmert's approval rating in Israel, notes one State Department wag, "lags behind the country's annual growthrate." Even among US officials, Olmert is not highly regarded. One senior State Department official after hearing about hisrecent proposal to place a international force on the Gaza-Egyptian border said, "Olmert has a new, stupid idea every day."

Welch will meet with his "Quartet" counterparts [Russian, EU and UN officials]... none of these erstwhile partners are pressing for an outreach to Hamas. Still, veteran US officials remain far from sanguine about rescuing the situation. "We never suspected this is what they meant when they talked about `the birth pangs of the new MiddleEast'", commented one State Department official sarcastically.