Western diplomats were skeptical, wondering how such investment might precede a peace plan.
In a speech on Sunday, Ariel Sharon, the Israeli prime minister, demanded that 48 hours of "absolute quiet" precede any peace talks.
Mr. Bush, who will meet with Mr. Sharon on Wednesday, has also called on the Palestinians to replace Mr. Arafat as their leader, endorsing Mr. Sharon's demand that a change in leadership precede substantive peace negotiations.
Last year, peace talks preceded a huge Taliban offensive.
It's more compelling than (though not necessarily superior to) "Pipes of Peace," which preceded it, and rewarding in part simply because the artist's effort shows.
The concert, called "A Piece for Peace," was preceded by remarks by administrators including Reynold Levy, the president of Lincoln Center, who commented on Mr. Tao's gifts as a prodigy.
No matter what happens, foreign policy experts who advise the administration agreed that if Mr. Obama wanted to move ahead with the peace talks, preceded by the so-called proximity or indirect talks, the flotilla raid demonstrated that he may have to tackle the thornier issue of the Gaza blockade, which has largely been in effect since the takeover of Gaza by Hamas in 2007.
But it only has any validity if they also question the nature of the "peace" preceding it.
For all the trauma that preceded Mosquito, they seem at peace in their native New York.
Rewardingly, for those who appointed her to a teaching post on the LSE's forthcoming MSc in women, peace and security, excitement about Ms Jolie Pitt's arrival also added lustre to her partner scholar, Professor William Hague's simultaneous appointment – one which might otherwise have dismayed any applicants aware of the protracted period that preceded his interest in women, peace and security.
