Barak’s Balancing Act

Prospects for a peace agreement in the Middle East are looking bleak amid reports that Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak is prepared to leave the Camp David summit. This turn of events should come as no surprise to Slate readers: When Barak was elected a year ago, David Plotz debunked the belief, commonly held among Americans, that Israel’s “final rapprochement with the Palestinians, Syrians, and Lebanese is just a matter of proofreading the treaties and scheduling a few ceremonial handshakes in the Rose Garden.”