3-star tapped to monitor Mideast peace plan

[unhappycamper]

Lt. Gen. William Fraser III
Will return to Mideast by end of January.


3-star tapped to monitor Mideast peace plan
By Anne Gearan - The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Jan 10, 2008 10:57:59 EST

RAMALLAH, West Bank — President Bush on Thursday predicted that a Mideast peace treaty would be completed by the time he leaves office, and named an Air Force general to oversee compliance with a U.S.-backed peace plan.

Lt. Gen. William Fraser III, assistant to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has been tapped to monitor progress that Israelis and Palestinians are making on the peace process known as the “roadmap,” a U.S. official told The Associated Press. Fraser is expected to return to the region before the end of the month, said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the White House has not formally announced the appointment.

“I’m on a timetable,” Bush told reporters. “I’ve got 12 months.”

Bush said he’s convinced that both Israeli and Palestinian leaders understand “the importance of democratic states living side by side” in peace.

Fraser has traveled with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to the region. Bush briefly alluded to Fraser’s role in a news conference with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas earlier Thursday.


Rest of article at: http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2008/01/ap_fraser_080110/