It has emerged that the CIA will take a key role in implementing the Wye River agreement reached by the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and the Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in the United States last week - a disclosure that is coming under criticism in Washington.

The agreement calls for a high-level committee including representatives from Israel, the Palestinian Authority and the United States to meet at least every two weeks to discuss security issues, and it is an open secret that the American chair will be occupied by a senior CIA official.

Critics of the idea are questioning the new functions assigned to the CIA. A former director of the organisation, Robert Gates, has said that it involves risks.

"Because of the highly-visible role, the agency runs the risk of being caught between the two potentially conflicting parties," he said.

Meanwhile a former senior US defence official called the decision to bring in the CIA "a serious mistake".

CIA wary of publicity

What is apparently causing concern is not so much that the CIA will play a part, but that it will do so publicly.

US is involvement is already resented

The CIA could be forced in some circumstances to takes sides, according to those who question the wisdom of the move, and in particular it could find itself explicitly backing Israeli demands for a tougher Palestinian crackdown on Islamic extremists or other violent groups.

However, the CIA role in the region will in reality scarcely be a new one.