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 WASHINGTON (AP) - The Bush administration has a lot riding on the outcome of two deadlines that loom in the volatile Middle East: the historic withdrawal of Israeli troops and settlers from the occupied Gaza Strip and the drafting of a constitution for an independent Iraq.
In both cases, the United States has invested time and a great deal of money to promote democracy and peace — often elusive commodities in the Middle East. In the case of Iraq, the United States has also spent blood. In both cases, success might mean a reduction in terrorist violence while failure could damage both Middle East stability and U.S. credibility.
For the Bush administration, each situation presents an opportunity to demonstrate to the Middle East that political participation can pay off, said retired Col. P.J. Crowley, a National Security Council staff member in the Clinton administration and now a foreign policy analyst at the liberal Center for American Progress.
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