President Barack Obama gets an “F” for his initial effort to promote peace
between Israelis and Palestinians, a former U.S. ambassador to Israel said
Tuesday.
Martin Indyk, ambassador to Israel under President Bill Clinton, told an audience the current president is trying hard to re-ignite diplomacy in
the Middle East — trying, in fact, much harder than former President George W.
Bush did.
But, he said, the growing mistrust between Israelis and Palestinians, the
meddling influence of Iran, the Bush administration’s neglect and the Obama
administration’s missteps have worsened the situation in the past year.
“It’s clear that things are not going as he planned,” Indyk said.
Indyk, who now serves as a vice president at the Brookings Institution, told
the approximately 300 people that
Obama planned on the quick support of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. It made
some sense: Saudi Arabia and other Arab powers are alarmed by the Iranian
support of Palestinian extremist groups like Hamas. Abdullah could deflate that
Iranian influence by helping to normalize relations between Israel and much of
the Arab world.
But King Abdullah, mistrustful of both Israel and the Palestinians, flatly
turned Obama down, Indyk said. That resounding “no” echoed through the Middle
East, sending other Arab leaders away from the peace process.
The former ambassador is hopeful that the Obama administration will keep
trying.
The former ambassador hopes the president starts by looking for small
victories in the region. Maybe some disputed land returned to the Palestinian
Authority in the West Bank. Maybe baby steps to normalize the relationship
between Israel and the United Arab Emirates.
Such progress is important because it’s the only way to achieve any lasting
stability in the region. It’s the only way to peacefully prevent Iran from
developing nuclear weapons. And it’s the only way to ensure the steady export of
natural resources like oil, Indyk said.
“For America’s credibility, we need to find a way to succeed,” he said.
(Here is a new idea why don't we let the Jewish State defend itself. Why do we think Israel should have to sit down with people who want to destroy their nation and kill them. You can't talk with people who want you dead, can you? Read more of the above story