THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, July 27, 1994 TAG: 9407270010
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Short : 42 lines
Lack of war isn't peace, but the formal end to the state of belligerence between Jordan and Israel is a leap toward two desirable conclusions: a peace treaty between neighbors who for 25 years have worked secretly, carefully at co-existing, and a mutual will to ad-dress ordinary concerns - water, land, jobs - in an extraordinary place.
This may seem a natural progression, from secret contacts to open negotiation, from short wars to long-term economic interests. But it is no small feat to have come this far. King Hussein and Prime Minister Rabin have both triumphed over opponents from outside and from within. It will also take great efforts to prevent terrorist bitter-enders - striking in such widely separated places as London and Buenos Aires as well as Gaza and the West Bank - from blowing up this peace.
Like others between Israel and its Arab neighbors, this peace had U.S. help, military, diplomatic and, not least, financial. It will require more of all three. King Hussein wants congressional forgiveness of $700 million in Jordanian debt. Israel has its wish list, too.
But since the Camp David accords of 1977, successive U.S. administrations have invested heavily in Mideast peace, not just with aid, but with arms to stop terrorist regimes like Libya's Gadhafi and Iraq's Saddam. The successes of U.S. shuttle diplomacy between Arab and Israeli have isolated, and seemingly tempered, Syria's Hafez As-sad, who is still outside Mideast peace discussions.
Last fall's accord between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization, again with U.S. midwifery, tackles the Israeli-Palestinian dispute from one side. A working relationship between Israel and Jordan, which is predominantly Palestinian, offers a useful check on PLO power. It offers them a chance, too, at prosperity; and in moving to genuine Mideast peace, that may prove key. by CNB