There are consequences if you act militarily, and there's big consequences if you don't act.

Arafat's whole life has been governed by struggle and a cause. Everything he has done as leader of the Palestinians is to always leave his options open, never close a door.

Force is not inevitable. Diplomacy is still the desired means. Pressure is an element of the means.

There are consequences if you act militarily, and there's big consequences if you don't act.

If there were an election today, Netanyahu would win. Yet, his standing in the polls is also a reflection of the weakness of Ehud Olmert, the current prime minister - who stands at 2 percent in a recent poll - and the enduring weaknesses of the Labor Party.

You don't have any communication between the Israelis and the Iranians. You have all sorts of local triggers for conflict. Having countries act on a hair trigger - where they can't afford to be second to strike - the potential for a miscalculation or a nuclear war through inadvertence is simply too high.

I am the Counselor at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.