09:06 AM EST on Thursday, January 29, 2004

IN OCTOBER, I traveled with a delegation to Iraq. While in Mosul and Baghdad, I asked about Arabic graffiti we saw scrawled here and there. The answer from our escort was "Oh, a lot of it is crazy stuff about Israel -- such as 'Israel is taking over Iraq.' The extremists use the Palestinian cause a lot in their propaganda."

While I was in Iraq, a panel of Arab and Muslim experts chosen by the Bush administration released a report advocating a "New Strategic Direction for U.S. Public Diplomacy in the Arab and Muslim World."

Led by Edward P. Djerejian, a former ambassador and White House spokesman, the 13-member panel traveled, interviewed and surveyed extensively throughout the Muslim world.

Two very important observations from the report are that "hostility toward America has reached shocking levels," and "large majorities in the Arab and Muslim world view U.S. policy through the prism of the Arab-Israeli conflict."

I believe that we must come to grips with those two major conclusions of the Djerejian Report. In fact, one might deduce that our success in fighting worldwide terrorism and in winning in Iraq depends on progress on the Israeli-Palestinian issues.

But to the bafflement of many, the Bush administration has chosen to disengage from a problem that will take great effort and in which the stakes are everything. The reason for this non-action could lie in these words from the Holy Bible, Deuteronomy, 34:1-4:

"Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho and the Lord showed him the whole land: Gilead as far as Dan, all Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Western Sea, the Negeb, and the Plain -- that is the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees -- as far as Zoar. The Lord said to him, 'This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, 'I will give it to your descendants.' "

Much of the lands "promised" in those words today lie in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Although administered by Israel since the 1967 Six Day War, the land was not part of the State of Israel created in 1948 by the United Nations and is at the center of the conflict between the Palestinians and the Israelis.

There are many Americans, including members of Congress, who take a very literal, fundamental view of the Bible and who let their religious beliefs dictate their view of foreign policy, especially in the Mideast. These fundamentalists have a mantra concerning the Israeli-Palestinian dispute: "Never exchange land for peace. The land is God's gift to the Jewish people."

But if we accept the findings of the Djerejian Report, then it is logical to conclude that the "global jihad" is intensified greatly by the dispute over this land.

Early in 2003, President Bush laid out a peace process for the Palestinians and Israelis called "the road map." The central principle is creating a Palestinian state, a bold new objective. Creating a Palestinian state, of course, would necessitate the trading of land for peace.

To me, peace in the Mideast also requires that there be an unqualified commitment to the security of Israel.

Indeed, many supporters of Israel believe a two-state solution is ultimately in Israel's long-term best interest. However, for months now the peace process has been at a dead stop. Why is that?

Two recent events have been especially perplexing. Vice President Dick Cheney just hired as his Mideast adviser a fervent foe of "land for peace," David Wurmser. His selection is a staggering disappointment to those of us who support the road map.

Second, there was barely a whisper of repudiation from anyone in the Bush administration when Gen. William G. Boykin was found to have appeared publicly in uniform making inflammatory statements disparaging the Islamic religion. These utterances energize our foes. How could the president stand for such behavior, never mind letting the officer assume a critical position in our military command when we are so deeply involved in the Muslim world?

According to the Djerejian Report, for those in the Arab and Muslim world who dream of advancement of their people and of achieving these gains without violence, every signal, every nuance from the United States is important. We cannot underestimate the willingness of the Arab press to amplify the obscure.

The Djerejian Report says, "For example, a single word from the President of the United States (or from a congressman or even an American entertainer) can harden into formidable antagonism in the view of an Arab citizen who was wavering on a policy question."

We must not discourage the friends we do have in the region.

I represent Rhode Islanders and other Americans fighting in Iraq. They see the graffiti I saw, and they must have questions. I believe that success in Iraq depends on showing a greater commitment to progress in resolving the very, very difficult issues between the Israelis and Palestinians.

Are we stalled on the road map because foes of land for peace control our foreign policy?

Lincoln Chafee is the junior U.S. senator from Rhode Island. A Republican, he is chairman of the Subcommittee on Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.