From PRI, Public Radio International and KCRW Santa Monica, this is To the Point.

Middle East peace and a divided administration.

Hello again, I'm Aranalmi, and this is To the Point from Public Radio International.

A daily look at the issues Americans care about most.

Condoleezza Rice has scheduled an Israeli-Palestinian peace conference for some time next month,

but not all the players have agreed to show up. Rice is shuttling around the Middle East,

but Israel won't promise to address the tough issues, and the Arab states are playing hard to get.

Meanwhile, Israel's still mysterious midnight bombing raid on Syria

has created problems for the Secretary of State.

On to the point, Syria will be crucial to the regional peace,

but hardliners within the Bush administration want to get tough on that country.

Was Syria trying to build a nuclear weapon?

How will last month's raid impact plans for next month's peace conference?

First, the news.

Support for To the Point comes from subscribers of KCRW Santa Monica

and from the Public Radio International Program Fund,

whose contributors include the Ford Foundation

and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

Hello again, Warren Alney, back with To the Point. Condoleezza Rice says a Palestinian state is at hand,

but organizing a peace conference for next month is proving problematic. On To the Point,

we'll hear about differences between Israel and its neighbors and within the Bush administration.

First, this news update. Russian President

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