Olmert in Washington

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's visit to Washington on June 19 could be more interesting than usual. Olmert has been going through the motions of meeting up regularly with embattled Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at Condi Rice's urging as the Palestinian Authority falls apart around him. 

The United States will try to leverage the visit to prove that it does have a Middle East policy. It is still seeking to bolster Abbas against Fatah and is pushing a reluctant Olmert to release withheld tax revenues to Abbas.  Olmert is worried the money will end up in the wrong hands.  He wants to bolster his own desperately weak position by the time-honoured means of switching to the 'Syrian track' in the hope of progress in peace talks with Damascus.  But Syria wants the US involved in any talks with Israel to secure the broader dividends it is seeking.  Back to the US position:  focus on the Palestinian track and bolster Abbas.  Olmert may be tempted to demonstrate his independence from the US by publicly disagreeing, but is unlikely to do so.  The main problem is that the US strategy had been overtaken by events even before the current bloodbath in Gaza started.