How to Make Peace... Maybe

PW: What led you to write The Missing Peace [click here to read the review] now?

Dennis Ross: You can have no peace with mythologies, and my conclusion is that mythologies are becoming increasingly prevalent in the Middle East. This book is an attempt to debunk some of the collective myths on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict so that we can engage the real issues and begin to adjust to realities. There has to be a real effort at truth telling in this region around the issues of Jerusalem, refugees and territory.

PW: In the book, you spend a lot of time on Camp David. Why did the Camp David summit fail?

DR: Fundamentally, Arafat could not give up his cause. He couldn't give up his grievances. He couldn't transform himself into a leader of a state. If he were Nelson Mandela, this whole conflict would have ended years ago.

PW: Why do you think Arafat was incapable of saying yes to peace at Camp David?

DR: Arafat is an icon to Palestinians, and he has done a lot for them. He put them on the map, gave them dignity, and was a national symbol of their resistance. He also gave a semblance of unity to the Palestinian liberation movement, and for these things he gets enormous credit from Palestinians and has extraordinary standing. He is an icon who has created a past. But he may not be able to give them a future.

It is not so easy to engage in the reforms needed to build a nation. That said, there are Palestinian reformers out there. Palestinians increasingly support a reform movement. It's stronger than it was and more progressive. And this reform movement wants to make Arafat a symbol, give him a figurehead role, which would remove him from day-to-day management. He is not willing to give this up, but increasingly is pressured to do so from within the Palestinian Authority.

PW: Your book serves almost as a handbook for diplomats. What should future negotiators pay attention to? What should they do?

DR: A couple of things. First, dealing with this region and these issues requires the energy and passion that will allow you to take on an enormous effort. You cannot be deterred by the setbacks which occur so often. Second, you need an enormous amount of effort to resolve these issues. The U.S. cannot expect to swing by the region every couple of months, make a couple of phone calls and all will be well. An ongoing intensive effort is needed. Third, we need to engage in a peace process again. Right now, we have a dialogue of violence, not words. To end the conflict, you need to get back to the latter.

PW: What's next for you?

DR: I am committed to the region and to the peace process. I will continue to stay involved in the process. In the past, people listened to me because they had to, now because they choose to. I will continue to write articles. I also plan on writing another book.

PW: What will this book be about?

DR: The book will be about how to negotiate and how best to use negotiation as a tool for diplomacy. I don't want this to be a primer, but a book that talks about what it takes to negotiate in a high-stakes, high-pressure atmosphere.