[Judy Woodruff, Cnn Anchor:] For more insight into the Middle East summit, former State Department Spokesman James Rubin joins us now from London. Mr. Rubin, thank you for being with us.
[James Rubin, Fmr. State Department Spokesman:] Thank you.
[Woodruff:] First of all, is Ehud Barak's hand weakened at this summit because of the lack of support he has in his own parliament?
[Rubin:] Well, on the surface, I think that's obviously true. But I think if you look below the surface, you might find Ehud Barak unshackled. The coalition he put together included a lot of parties whose support for the peace process was always in question. Prime Minister Barak believes, as best as I can tell, that he was elected to make some dramatic changes in the peace process. And if this summit was already a moment of truth, it's now an even bigger moment of truth because the only way that Barak can cut through this is to do what some have suggested, which is to pursue an agreement, to obtain the agreement by making the necessary compromises, but have, through a series of compromises, achieved what no Israeli prime minister has ever achieved before, and that is a real possibility of the end of the Arab-Israeli conflict, and take that agreement to the people of Israel. And if he wins in a referendum there with the same kind of margin he won the prime ministership, then the coalition partners who have been the obstacles to peace, both during his term and in previous terms, will fall by the wayside.
[Woodruff:] So can something meaningful come out of this summit given the turmoil back home for him in Israel?
[Rubin:] Absolutely. And I think, arguably, Judy, something more meaningful can come out of it, because if he had gone to Camp David with the baggage of knowing that various centrist parties or right- wing parties that were part of his coalition were going to oppose him, he might have felt compelled to avoid compromises that would have been necessary to get an agreement with the Palestinians. Without those parties as part of his government, he's now free to do what he, a former general, a former chief of staff, a man elected to pursue peace, thinks is the right course, and then take that agreement directly to the people, circumvent this constipated political system that can't decide whether it's for peace or against peace because, as you know, during Prime Minister Netanyahu, the previous prime minister's term, the coalition fell apart because he was against the peace process.
[Woodruff:] So just to clarify, James Rubin, you're saying you believe most the Israeli people do want an agreement.
[Rubin:] Well, some of the polls I've seen already today show that a majority, a significant majority not a huge majority, but a significant majority think he should go to Camp David and pursue the course necessary to get an agreement. And that is the roughly the same majority that voted for him as prime minister. The problem is in their parliamentary system where these smaller parties get an unreasonable share of control.
[Woodruff:] All right, James Rubin, we appreciate your joining us from London. Thanks very much.