NOW THAT President Bill Clinton has been re-elected what are we to expect with regards to the paralyzed Middle East peace process? There is no doubt that Arab parties to the now faltering Madrid process see the victory of the incumbent president as a positive development after so many frustrating events that started with the assassination last year of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and culminated with the rise to power of a right-wing Likud-led government in Israel in May of this year.
The defeat of Labor leader Shimon Peres by Benjamin Netanyahu, an opponent to the peace process and a hard-liner, has led to a dangerous set-back to the five-year-old process. That process had given birth to the Jordanian-Israeli peace treaty, the Palestinian-Israeli Declaration of Principles and serious negotiations between Syria and Israel over the future of the occupied Golan Heights.
But with Netanyahu's assumption of power in Israel, by a narrow margin of votes revealing a deeply divided Israeli electorate, has reversed that process and put its future, and that of the region, in the balance.
The United States, the only key sponsor of the peace process, has failed to send a clear message to Netanyahu, who immediately unfroze Israel's controversial, and illegal, policy of building and expanding Jewish settlements, confiscating Arab lands, altering the Arab identity of East Jerusalem and negating the main points in the self-rule agreement, the Oslo Accords, with the Palestinians.
Washington's lethargy and ineptitude was traced to domestic issues; the presidential US elections and the candidates' dependency on Jewish votes in key states.
Still, President Clinton tried to put pressure on the rebellious Netanyahu, who never forgave Mr Clinton for backing Mr Peres in the May election. But the Washington summit last month was meant to boost Mr Clinton's image at home rather than corner Netanyahu.
As a result, the Israeli premier dragged his feet on the implementation of the Hebron agreement and his ministers made no secret that they wanted to renegotiate that agreement, and many others, thus violating the letter and spirit of the Oslo Accords and the Declaration of Principles.
There is almost an international consensus that the present Israeli government is threatening the survival of the Middle East process. There is a worrying feeling that Netanyahu's fiery and provocative rhetoric could drag the region to war and chaos. With this in mind, the Clinton administration must act swiftly to save the process from collapse. It must do this by making it clear to Netanyahu that he risks damaging Israel's relations with the US and the rest of the world if he continues with his policies.
He must be made to understand that he will not be allowed to wreck the peace process and push the region to the verge of war. Mr Clinton must not waver from doing so immediately. Now he can afford to do this.