Israeli-Palestinian Peace Negotiations

Charles Krauthammer's excellent article in today's Washington Post, Your move, Mr. Abbas, questions the sincerity of Abbas in the current round of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.  What Krauthammer leaves out is this:  Abbas doesn't have enough political power to enforce an agreement, if one can be reached. Frankly, I think the time may have passed when any agreement is possible. Hamas and Hezbollah are stronger (thank you George Bush for invading Iraq and taking away Iran's primary enemy), Iran is on the threshold of being a nuclear power, the Saudis and Syrians seem to be sitting on the sidelines, and any lasting peace lies beyond what Palestinian and Israeli negotiations can produce. No one wants to give Hamas and Hezbollah legitimacy by giving them seats at the negotiating table, but facts on the ground make them legitimate power brokers. Unless Hamas and Hezbollah are brought into the negotiations, along with the nations who support them, no lasting peace is possible. George Mitchell and the Obama administration have done a great job of diplomacy in getting Netanyahu and Abbas to the table.  They should take the next step and incorporate side talks with Hamas, Hezbollah and Syria with the goal of establishing a regional solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  That's a view from Missouri.