Any opportunity for possible peace in the Middle East is worth pursuing, so it was nice to see the Quartet come together, although from the looks of things, they didn’t really have much to report other than their word of the day. Still, the possibility of Syria attending the ME peace conference is good (although lettuce jump for joy when it actually happens). It’s important to get all the big local players involved…so that there is more blame to go around as they piss away the opportunity (or so says the cynic).

Secretary Rice did well to note that there is still much work to be done. Most of the work making the press rounds involves the creation of a Palestinian state. But there are at least two other important considerations: the ongoing plight of the Palestinian refugees (which, admittedly, may be resolved upon the creation of an independent Palestine) and the even more troublesome issue of Jerusalem. Al-Quds is actually probably the biggest obstacle to peace since there has been no maneuvering or hints at accommodation on who gets to control Jerusalem. The short term solution is simple and obvious - and one that has been proposed before to the dismay of the two central parties: have Jerusalem under UN control. Yes, the UN has issues itself. I mean, it can’t even get involved in serious crises like Darfur in a reasonable time. Still, there is no denying that right now, the UN is the most respected international organization in operation and as such is the only entity with enough credibility to tackle the problem until a permanent solution is found, which at the current rate of progress in the Middle East will be right around the time that Hell freezes over.

So take your momentum with a grain of salt, but don’t throw in the towel just yet.