Prime Ministers Ariel Sharon and Mahmoud Abbas are setting the stage for the Middle East magic show (with cracked glass) to be held in Jordan next week. President Bush will direct the reluctant summiteers.

The only problem is that it's impossible to take that show on the road, unless it's played in the theater of the absurd.

Yes, the parties will put on their best face, knowing they will be paid well for their performance. Economic blackmail worked in 1991 after the Gulf War. Israel showed up in Madrid to collect a $10 billion loan guarantee.

Will Syria get an invite? They did close a few terrorist offices for a day or two. So what if they were Saddam's partner-in-crime, and directed traffic for would-be Palestinian martyrs attempting to kill American soldiers in Operation Iraqi Freedom? This is a really big show!

Condoleezza Rice had it right when she said, "Frankly, the Palestinian Authority, which is corrupt and cavorts with terror . . . is not the basis for a Palestinian state moving forward.'' (National Security Advisor, Mercury News, June 15, 2002)

As did her boss, President George Bush, when he said, "Today, Palestinian authorities are encouraging, not opposing, terrorism. This is unacceptable. And the United States will not support the establishment of a Palestinian state until its leaders engage in a sustained fight against the terrorists and dismantle their infrastructure." (Rose Garden Press Conference, June 24, 2002)

It appears that we have gone from "show your cards" to "let's reshuffle the deck." Surely the peace summit is not an "appeasement summit" to accommodate the unhappy campers who didn't get an invitation to the Baghdad bar-be-que, or simply didn't like what was being served. Or a production scripted for the ministers of misinformation who have convinced the raging Muslim world that the U.S. is the Khmer Rouge, and Baghdad the killing fields.

Will the summit shut down the engine of terror or fuel it? Will a makeover leave the Bush doctrine of terrorism suspended in midair?

Terrorist regimes must be toppled, not courted. That was the Bush Doctrine, and it worked well in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Are we placing the destiny of the Middle East in the hands of a newly appointed prime minister who was Arafat's Fatah partner and the chief financial officer for the PLO and its terrorist campaign? Are we giving a state to the same PLO that has been an obstacle to peace, and the model and inspiration for terrorist regimes around the world for decades, including Osama bin Laden? If so, that is quite simply pure moral hypocrisy."

A "bad terrorist" cannot be made to look like a conservative "good terrorist." Why not appoint a prime minister in Syria, Iran and North Korea, and promise them a state. Oh, that's right, they already have both.

President Bush expressed his wholehearted support for the Road Map, and linked it to the confirmation of Abbas as prime minister. Nothing, however, was said about the fact that Abbas, in his confirmation speech stated "...our government will work side-by-side with the PLO Executive Committee... The government will not spare any effort to work to release our honorable heroes, Abdul Rahim Malowah, Rakad Salem, and Marwan Barghouti.

Rahim is deputy head of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (a terrorist organization.) Salem is the head of the pro-Iraqi Arab Liberation Front that served as Iraq's agent, giving financial assistance to the families of suicide bombers. Barghouti is on trial on charges involving the murder of 26 Israelis, including premeditated murder, accessory to murder, incitement to murder, attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and participation and membership in a terrorist organization.

Nor was there any mention in the President's speech of Abbas' commitment to the PLO, and his covenant, which he also reaffirmed. Article 22 states that "the liberation of Palestine will destroy Zionist and imperialist presence and will contribute to the establishment of peace in the Middle East.

How will the would-be Osamas of the world interpret the script of the Middle East Summit? Will it be seen as a genuine attempt to address their grievances, or simply a show that will give the pawns false hope yet again...the most dangerous thing when the line of would-be martyrs is a mile long, and their sponsors are eagerly waiting at the door?