US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's rictus smile was first on show in Washington about a month ago when she sat between Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Palestinian President Abbas and persuaded them to shake hands in front of her. It was again on display in Egypt this past week when she joined Netanyahu and Abbas for the first of what is intended to be a series of regular meetings to resolve the differences between them.
Again, she was smiling brilliantly every time she was with the pair or one or the other. Is this a deliberate attempt to create an air of optimism around the talks? Except for the fact that they are talking nothing has been achieved. The risk of the permanent smile, of course, is that as the negotiations get into the details that have proved insoluble for decades past Mrs Clinton's face will be subjected to ever closer study to see whether any anxiety can be detected at the edges of the smile. She will find it difficult to keep up the facial optimism.