Wise Men To Obama: "We Stand With You"
Samuel Lewis, Edward Walker, Robert Pelletreau and Thomas Pickering are among the finest American diplomats to have served in the State Department. They've all been ambassadors to Israel or Arab countries or both. It's an educated guess that between them, they have more than 100 years of diplomatic experience, more than half of that in the Middle East. Hats off to the Israel Policy Forum for bringing those retired statesmen together for the constructive contribution they made this week in collaborating in an IPF open letter to President Obama.
On the eve of visits by several Middle East leaders to the White House, starting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu next week, the four wise men state some important truths, recommend some sensible steps and offer their prestigious support for Obama's approach. The Middle East has reached a dangerous crossroads, and it's imperative that Obama receives this kind of solid information, smart advice and political underpinning. The IPF initiative asks Obama to seek the support of the Middle East leaders for five "achievable" goals:
--An immediate renewal of US-mediated Israeli-Palestinian negotiations toward the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel;
--The cessation of Palestinian terror attacks on Israelis and of weapons smuggling into Gaza, and an increase in the number of American-trained Palestinian security forces in the West Bank;
--A freeze on West Bank settlement construction, the dismantling of superfluous checkpoints and illegal settlements, and the cessation of demolitions of Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem;
--The immediate reconstruction of Gaza with a focus on civilian needs, and the local economy;
--The pursuit of a comprehensive peace between Israel and its neighbors, including Syria, using the Arab Peace Initiative as a basis for negotiations.
Given the intense politicization of Middle East issues inside the Beltway, you have to be heartened by the great work being done by groups like the Israel Policy Forum to present credible information and analysis. Check out the IPF's website and especially its new blog, the Middle East Pulse. Some of the best Middle East analysts are writing there, including one of the smartest, MJ Rosenberg.
--By Scott MacLeod/Cairo
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Well, the 5 "achievable" goals are indeed achievable. However, I very much doubt that Bibbi is willing to do anything positive when it comes to freezing the West Bank settlement construction and the cessation of demolitions of Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem. And, as usual, as soon as a Palestinian commits a terrorist attack, Bibbi will cease all peace negotiations until the Palestinians stop firing rockets or killing troops or whatever. Ofcourse, giving the fact that the Palestinians are fed up with all the peace negotiations nonsense (especially the Palestinians in Gaza), I very much doubt they will stop resisting. And that would ofcourse give Bibbi the pretext he needs to stop/delay peace negotiations and continue with settlements building and demolishing Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem. And thats not a new thing, this scenario has been going on for dozens of years now and it certainly wont stop when Bibbi is around...
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Ofcourse, lets not forget that the IPF is way weaker than AIPAC. So, who would really care about what IPF say??? -
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[...] First reactions have been positive. [...]
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http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2009/05/iraqi-insurgents200905
No conspiracy theory just fact - US policy has been hijacked by a small highly organized group who pursue one objective. Who benefited from an unstable Iraq - strangely both Israel and Iran - who share a desire for a constant state of war because they do not want real progress which would threaten their existence (Iran for theocratric/ regional hegemony and Israel because democracy would mean the end to a jewish state which is a closet theocracy at its core).
The Vanity Fair article is accurate, it happened and provides transparency on the NeoCon movement and its disastrous affect on US prestige, economy and young American lives.
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