Bill Clinton: Netanyahu Speech Is Just Opening Act

UNITED NATIONS — Former U.S. President Bill Clinton said Monday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's tough terms for a Palestinian peace deal are just the opening moves in a drama that will have a few more acts.

Clinton said it was a good thing that Netanyahu, who leads a hardline coalition, went on the record in support of "any sort of two-state solution."

A week after President Barack Obama addressed the Muslim world and strongly reiterated U.S. backing for independent Israeli and Palestinian states living side by side in peace, Netanyahu endorsed Sunday an independent Palestinian state beside Israel for the first time.

Netanyahu had previously refused to agree to negotiate a two-state solution, reversing the position of the previous Israeli government, which backed the road map to Mideast peace unveiled by the United Nations, the United States, the European Union and Russia in 2003.

But Netanyahu attached conditions that were immediately rejected by the Palestinians _ including recognition of Israel as the Jewish state, essentially means Palestinians refugees must give up their goal of returning to Israel. He insisted that a Palestinian state be demilitarized, and demanded that Jerusalem remain the capital of Israel. He also refused to freeze Israeli settlements in the West Bank, as the U.S. is demanding.

"Based on my experience with Mr. Netanyahu, he did what he thought he had to do to keep the ball rolling and not completely alienate the United States initiative," Clinton told reporters at the end of a news conference on his new role as the U.N. special advisor on Haiti.

"This is the opening play," he said. "This is his response to the Obama administration's first move."

"It's just the beginning, and it's a drama that will have a few more acts," Clinton said.

Story continues below

Reporters burst into laughter when Clinton said he hadn't gotten his talking points from the U.S. State Department and was speaking only for himself. His wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, is secretary of state.

Clinton, as president, brokered Israeli-Palestinian peace talks in Maryland in 1998, at Camp David in July 2000, and in Taba, Egypt, in January 2001 _ all to no avail.

He said Netanyahu's proposal on Sunday was "completely unacceptable" to the Fatah-led Palestinian government, which controls the West Bank and would not lead the rival Hamas faction, which controls the Gaza Strip, "to give up violence and try to join the coalition government."

Israeli and Palestinian politics are also "more fractured" than they were during his presidency from 1993 to 2001, Clinton said. "So we're a long way from where we need to be," he said.

On the other hand, the Saudi peace initiative proposed by King Abdullah in 2002 and relaunched in 2007 "has the support of the entire Arab world _ save Syria _ and other Muslim countries."

It offers pan-Arab recognition of Israel in exchange for the return of Arab lands captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war.

Clinton said Obama, his secretary of state, and Mideast envoy George Mitchell "are basically taking the right position in trying to work through this in the right way."

"What would have been a disaster is if Netanyahu had not endorsed the possibility of a two-state solution," Clinton said.

Comments

[Artos]

BiBis opening move is meant to push Obamas button and to see just how what Obama is made of. How difficult can it be to simply not write a check for 5 or 6 billion. Hey we can use that money right here at home. Another thing would be to freeze all of Israels assets here in America as well as write a bill that no one shall send any kind of money to Israel via the mail or banking system. Once Israel is starved for cash then perhaps BiBi will cease and desist with the acts at all.

[Hank007]

'Splain me why we fight theocracies around the world, live in a nation founded on separation of church and state, but somehow are expected to fund a self-declared theocracy?

[Rog49Thomas]

"Bill Clinton: Netanyahu Speech Is Just Opening Act"

Does this mean (as I've said before) that we are engaged in one of our periodic shadow plays?

We pretend to push for peace and our ally pretends to negotiate for peace?

Problem with running the same show over and over is that eventually the audience does catch on to the plot.
And then the box office goes way down.

[gleeold]

Very profound analogy.

[Rog49Thomas]

When one really isn't serious about something, it's a really bad idea to pretend one is.
When realistically one is not going to really change policy, it's really a bad idea to promote the idea that one can.

Raising hopes needlessly and then dashing them can lead to a worse situation than being honest at the outset.

[Richard729]

Benjamin Netanyahu is a charlatan. What a waste of time listening to his sham of a speech supposedly recognizing a Palestinian state. Yeah, with huge restrictions and conditions like all the Palestinian people have to prostrate themselves whenever the Israeli army wants to come in and kill a few women and children to prove what great warriors they are.

We saw what a shambles the Israelis made out of the Lebanon-Israeli conflict in 2006 and the other, more disastrous, calamity they launched against Gaza City in late 2008 and early this year.

The truth is, Bibi is panting to bomb Iran and he couldn't care less if the Iranian air force retalitates with conventional missiles because he's just dumb enough to think Iran is an easy a pushover as Bush thought Iraq was. What he doesn't care about is the massive radioactive debris and leaks into the atmosphere once Iran hits the well-known nuclear weapons locations in Israel. Once the poisonous clouds begin drifting into other countries around the world, there will be few, if any, friends Israel has left. Bibi is a war hawk and nothing more.

[NYC80]

Netayahu is a Z.ionist. Those people only care about war and want to wipe out the middle east. Just like the last U.S administration was a Z.ionist.

[Rog49Thomas]

Part 1

It's useful to understand the bind that Israeli politicians are in.

Automatic ascriptions of evil whether it's calling someone the Great Satan, charter members of the Axis of Evil, etc are only useful tools for ideologues to reinforce their beliefs. It's better to have a coldly rational view of what motivates parties. It helps in dealing with problems.

First, Israel is highly fragmented politically.
Brother Bibi actually came in second in the last election with a whopping 21% of the vote. Kadima was a whisker ahead. Govts in Israel are cobbled together from a crazy quilt of political parties - many with extreme positions or one to-die-for issue. In a situation like this, the Govt is held hostage to the minority.

Second, Brother Bibi is no Arik Sharon - who could bull doze other politicians and impose his way.

[Rog49Thomas]

Part 2

Third, A colonial state like Israel faces profound challenges in the long term.

(1) Demography is against it. Hence the messianic focus on aliya. On finding new immigrants.

(2) Time is its enemy.

(a) Technical advantages - military etc - erode over time. The "natives" catch up.

(b) Acclimatization: A very real fear of Israelis is that they will become like their neighbors - Eastern and no longer Western. The assumption is that some "Eastern cultural" deficiency is responsible for the natives' inability to resist. This explains the second class treatment meted out to the Mizrahi and Sephardim immigrants. And why today those immigrants who come from "Europe" get preference relative to others.

And as you'd guess, a colonial enterprise cannot succeed if it recognizes the "native" as co-equal. That's why one hears there is no such thing as "Palestine" or "Palestinians". That Arabs are backward savages. and on and on. Think of our own history vis a vis native Americans.

[Rog49Thomas]

Fourth, the military situation has changed profoundly.

Israel was quite competent at fighting other states in conventional wars. 1973 was a real scare. Absent massive resupply by the USA (which denuded NATO forces), the war could well have been lost.

The separate peace with Egypt seemed to solve the security situation removing the only significant opposing military power.

But the problem wasn't really solved: Israel now must fight unconventional wars.

As our own sad experience as a nation shows, prowess in conventional wars does not translate into unconventional wars.

Success in these conflicts requires either (a) political accommodation with one's opponents or (b) genocide.

The 2006 war in Lebanon like the 1982-2000 war against it posed a very difficult challenge. To add to this in 2006, Hizbullah began deploying sophisticated new weapons/new technology and using both quite effectively. Technical advantage eroding.

Rockets now mean the home front is no longer secure from attack.

The Israeli nightmare has to be that Hamas develops capabilities similar to Israel.

So what does the colonist do in this situation?

Particularly when there is no home country to return to.

One response is escalating violence to break the natives by increasing the price of resistance. The so-called "Roman" approach. Used by the French in Algeria. The Germans in Occupied Europe. The US in Philippines.

Another motive is frustration and fear. how does one secure the homeland?

[Rog49Thomas]

Hamas develops capabilities similar to Hizbullah.

[who38]

What are the wind patterns and which countries would suffer the most from the radioactive fallout? If it is Dubai, hope Cheney is visiting the Haliburton headquarters.

[Theou]

Quote:"What would have been a disaster is if Netanyahu had not endorsed the possibility of a two-state solution," Clinton said.
If the Israeli PM's speech constitutes an endorsement of a two state solution then it should provide that the two states involved be on parity, this it absolutely DOES NOT.
My conclusion is that , apparently unobserved by President Clinton, disaster has occured.

[Rog49Thomas]

Sometimes it's important to look beyond what is said to what is really meant.

[maigoro]

Bibi just made the stupidest speech in Israeli history. He was was to trying to appease Obama and Lieberman at the same time. Imagine that.

He is just as deceitful as all the other European origin Israeli war mongering politicians. I have said this many times before. Basically the European Jews that currently run Israel are still stagnant in their idelogies and the way they view others. They have brought a 1930's colonial fascist like mentality from Europe and unlike the rest of the civilized world, they have not been able to shake it off.

[white mende man]

Opening Act end of play Mr. Clinton. No one cares when one side makes all the rules and offers the other side crumbs.

here is the Full text of Netanyahu's speech:
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/06/20096154420444791.html

[powercosmic]

Ain't gonna happen.

There will be no peace as long as there isn't a Single-State called Pale.stine and its ruled by the majority A.rabs.

If Zio.nists want to live in the "holy" land they can do it without an Apart.heid government that is supported with my hard earned tax dollars.

This Is.rael experiment is a waste of time and money.

[Patricia84]

Here is to hoping it won't be a Greek tragedy.

[melponeme k]

Stop giving money to the them, they'll soon change their tune.

[on2them]

well said...co-sign

[katooom]

Stop giving them ALL money: Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Hamas, Palestinians, Iraq, Korea, Afg, Pak, ALL of them.

[SKEENGE]

The Israelis will talk peace and two-state solution all day long. They will also insist upon at least one unfair and/or unattainable precondition and will continue to harass and persecute the Palestinian people in hopes of getting a violent response. Bulldozing homes or destroying olive trees and crops are a couple of the methods used. If that doesn't work they will say that they have located a terrorist hideout and bomb the home, anything to get the appropriate violent response so that any chance at peace will be scuttled again. If you really believe that Isreal will accept a two-state solution I have a reliable American made car that gets 100mpg to sell you.

[sirclown]

President Clinton's perspective is welcome. His parameters remain the starting point that has created the most progress to date in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, at Taba, of course that was after Likud lost power to Labor and before Likud regained power. A Democratic American government, mediating between a Labor-Kadima-led Israeli government and Fatah-led Palestinian government could reach a deal. We did our part but can only hope Israelis and Palestinians decide to do theirs.

[dteg]

Was Bill listening to the same speech everyone else was. Netanyahu was laughing at the US and the Arab world. This guy is not trying to negotiate anything.

[Merckx]

Bill = Diplomat.
You, not so much.

[dteg]

Bill=Complete Denial

[Montgriz]

Bill = self serving, corrupted official and national embarrassment.
You, who knows?

[flamflurm]

He should be laughing.

[Whinger]

Palestinians regard it as a non-starter, do their views count for nothing?

[flamflurm]

We know their views all too well.

[Zen0469]

Clairvoyant are we?

[PJay1]

They declared it a non starter even before they heard the speech.

[Taxi]

That's because they've already seen this movie before.

A few time over.

Yet they refuse to buy the T-shirt.

[Cesaria]

They weren't proven wrong.

[Montgriz]

Well, among the occupying forces from Eastern Europe and America, they have not counted since 1945...

[Prakosh]

I don't know Bill, "any kind" of two state solution may be a step forward in rhetoric but after reading the whole speech it is hardly a step forward in diplomacy. Bibi's two state solution still seems to me to give the right of first refusal to Israel. And it appears that what Israel is really aiming for is an occupation without the occupation forces.

[NorthernMan]

One side lays out it's position and the other lays out theirs: now the concessions will begin, it's how negotiations are made. Hopefully it will lead to both sides feeling like they have won something and there will be peace, imagine that: Peace in the middle east, or we can just keep on killing. Bibi is either the master negotiator or the guy who started World War III.

[flamflurm]

Godwin's law, crypto version.

[Montgriz]

So, let's get this straight....A mostly European group led by 19 Century Zionist supporters, invade an area that has been home to millions before for centuries, gets a weakly organized approval to do so by the nascent UN, controlled by the US, and proceeds to force the inhabitants off their lands, take their homes, destroy their olive groves and disrupts a rich culture and then proceeds to take more lands beyond that....now, as occupiers of stolen lands, they offer the displaced people a small, loosely connected collection of bits of lands, walled in, and connected by roads the occupiers control. And, that is considered a legitimate position to begin negotiations?
]
There is no Israel, there is only Occcupied Palestine.