The new Arab approach provides Palestinian leaders with crucial political and cultural support to help them accept and sell compromises on the painful question of refugees and on adjustment of borders, and to help them parry opposition from Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other Islamists.
"The NCA, alongside UK and international law enforcement partners and the private sector, are working to identify and as appropriate disrupt websites selling compromised card data," he said.
The Republican comfort in their districts suggests that standard political pressure tactics will not work in trying to sell a compromise.
He called them "sincere" and said they were in a "difficult" position as they try to sell a compromise to their rank-and-file members.
The closed-door caucus meetings are expected to be the last step in efforts by the leadership in both parties to try and sell their compromise to their membership.
As they dig in for what they hope will be a final round of negotiations, the leadership is also gaming how to sell any compromise to House Republicans since it, by definition, will not give them all that they want.
The other two Republicans, Saxby Chambliss of Georgia and Michael Crapo of Idaho, are also risking right-wing wrath by staying on, but they don't seem to have the political clout to sell a compromise.
But if a deal is struck this month, it may be that the apparent obstacles created by the $800 billion baseline were actually advantages for dealmakers trying to sell a compromise.
When Republicans' midterm election gains empowered them to demand extending the tax cuts for all incomes, Mr. Sperling helped to devise the stimulus package Mr. Obama won in exchange, including a one-year payroll tax cut, and to sell the compromise to unhappy liberals in Congress.
The image of a tiresome, obdurate Palestinian has now been replaced by that of a tiny 12-year-old boy, cowering in terror under his father's arm while Israeli soldiers fired for an endless 45 minutes in his direction, eventually killing him.Hardening of heartsBut international sympathy will not help Mr Arafat to sell a compromise to his people.
