"There was a small-scale disturbance in Washington last Monday night when the plane meant to carry Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon there was still sitting on an Israeli runway. It was scheduled to take off three hours earlier but, in a remarkable piece of brinkmanship, Sharon told US officials that he was thinking of cancelling his trip."
"At stake were months of secret negotiations aimed at winning US support for Israel's pullout from Gaza and claim to six permanent settlements in the West Bank. The Israelis also wanted US backing for an end to Palestinian 'right of return' to homes lost in 1948 when Israel was founded. But, as Bush was listening to European concerns over such an about-face, Sharon issued his threat."
"It worked. After frantic talks Colin Powell, the US Secretary of State, assured Sharon he would get what he wanted. The plane finally lifted into the night sky. Two days later Sharon, like Blair later in the week, stood side by side with Bush. The difference was Sharon - who seemed unable to stop smiling - got exactly what he wanted."
"The diplomatic coup was the product of secret meetings that began last November when Sharon invited White House adviser Elliot Abrams to a meeting in Rome. Sharon laid out the bones of his plans to Abrams, who took the news back to Washington. More meetings followed, culminating in a series of late-night sessions last weekend at the Hay Adams hotel on Washington's 16th Street. When the final agreement on what Bush would say was reached, both sides celebrated at the hotel bar."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uselections2004/story/0,13918,1194384,00.html
Oh, and Kofi Annan eats well:
"On Thursday in New York, Blair had dinner with Kofi Annan, the UN's Secretary-General, at the home of Sir Emyr Jones Parry, the British ambassador to the UN. Over Welsh lamb followed by chocolate soufflé, Annan made it clear that, until fighting in Iraq between insurgents and coalition forces abated, the UN's role would have to be limited."