US point man for Mideast peace

Wolf is more technocrat than elder statesman - the type of person usually dispatched to make peace - but he has three things going for him, the diplomat adds: "He's on the ground, he's American, and he at least seems to have the ear of the White House."

A former US ambassador to Malaysia and the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, Wolf was assistant secretary of state for nonproliferation until he took up his new duties. While his background may lack experience in Middle East peacemaking, his character - which the diplomat describes as "really no nonsense" - may suit him to the task.

Wolf seems not to have initiated the monitoring phase of his work. This is in part because he is still assembling a team - which may include former or serving military and police officers - and because the road map is still in its infancy.

When Wolf begins this work, he may become a sort of behind-the-screen arbiter - investigating whether each side is fulfilling its obligations and making his findings known to the White House and the State Department.

The Israelis seem more wary of a third party investigating their compliance with the road map than the Palestinians. "Whatever aspects of the road map the Israelis are resisting have to be smoothed out by the Americans, particularly Wolf," says PA Cabinet Minister Ghassan Khatib. "He has to point at the party that is violating [agreements], of course in a constructive way."

Sharon spokesman Mr. Gissin says Wolf's role is "to monitor to what extent the Palestinian Authority is complying with the requirement to fight terrorism."

But another Israeli official, who declined to be identified, says that Wolf's role is limited to "transmitting messages from one side to the other," rejecting the notion that he should investigate who is doing what to whom in the field.

This divergence is in part a reflection of the Palestinians' longstanding demand that international observers keep an eye on Israel, and Israel's equally longstanding dismissal of that idea.

The Israelis argue that they conduct their actions in the open, frequently under media scrutiny, and that there is no need to bring in a third party.

Wolf's discretion may also help reinforce the impression that the US is involved in peacemaking efforts, but not orchestrating them.

Bush, during his presidential campaign, criticized then-President Clinton for becoming too intimately involved in the Israeli-Palestinian dispute.

Another Western diplomat here says the two sides have begun to drive the peace process forward on their own, citing an Abbas-Sharon meeting last week that, he says, the parties more or less organized themselves. This arrangement stands in contrast to the June meeting in Jordan, which the US all but scripted.

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