Hillary Clinton just met with Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and here is the pro forma "read out" of the meeting which the state department distributed:
Prime Minister Netanyahu and Secretary Clinton had a good discussion today, with a friendly and productive exchange of views on both sides. Secretary Clinton reiterated the United States' unshakable commitment to Israel's security and to peace in the region.
The prime minister and the secretary agreed on the importance of continuing direct negotiations to achieve our goals. The secretary reiterated that "the United States believes that through good-faith negotiations, the parties can mutually agree on an outcome which ends the conflict and reconciles the Palestinian goal of an independent and viable state, based on the 1967 lines, with agreed swaps, and the Israeli goal of a Jewish state with secure and recognized borders that reflect subsequent developments and meet Israeli security requirements." Those requirements will be fully taken into account in any future peace agreement.The discussions between the prime minister and the secretary focused on creating the conditions for the resumption of direct negotiations aimed at producing a two-state solution. Their teams will work closely together in the coming days toward that end.
This kind of statement that appears to say that the US and Israel agreed on some principles about direct negotiations leading to a two state outcome really says almost nothing.
Nonetheless, Israel-Palestine "is" a defining challenge for the Obama administration.
I'm in Abu Dhabi now and have had a number of conversations in less than a day here in which UAE government officials have emphasized that the fastest and most efficacious way to constructively confront Iran's growing power in the region is for the US to pull off a real breakthrough in the Israel/Palestine two state standoff.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is giving this peace process some of her considerable muscle -- but to be blunt, she has done nothing yet that reflects a change in strategy, personnel, inclusion of negotiating participants, or anything from what was underway before her involvement and earlier failures.
General Anthony Zinni once told me that the real weakness of the state department is that it rarely gamed out scenarios and didn't do what the department of defense did in considering a lot of different strategies that consider various key inputs in a war game simulation. Zinni may be on to something.
DoD scenarios allow virtually every kind of option to be considered. A DoD style scenario exercise would consider various strategies to either put Hamas on a track that would lead to inclusive negotiations or would consider through a cost/benefit calculation how to make the isolation of Hamas less beneficial to their obvious growing power and legitimacy. A DoD scenario would consider the economic, strategic and political factors in trying to either undermine Netanyahu and his government, move closer to it, or provide a mixed approach.
Hillary Clinton would be smart to assemble a group of people with whom she does not agree on Israel/Palestine and engage in some real simulation discussions of alternative tracks to get Israel and Palestine to "yes" on a two-state arrangement. The room should include the folks who have been part of the infrastructure of the past but should also include those who have strong disagreements with the current policy -- and various scenarios should be played out with the Secretary listening and learning.
My sense is that this has not yet happened and needs to. When I heard recently that Andrew Shapiro's policy guidance to Hillary Clinton on Israel/Palestine matters had not changed from what he gave her in the US Senate to what he feeds her today at the state department, it became clear to me that the cocoon Secretary Clinton is on Israel/Palestine issues needs some new inputs.
-- Steve Clemons publishes the popular political blog, The Washington Note. Clemons can be followed on Twitter @SCClemons.
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When Life is made up of Time:
On the one hand its mind boggling to think that this problem is older than the President of the United States but still not urgent enough for the civilized world to resolve.
On the other hand the whole World is getting a good education about our Modern Civilization 21st Century style, our Judeo Christian foundations, our wars with Iraq/Afghanistan/involvement in Pakistan, our push for conflict with Iran, together with the incomprehensible disrespect today's Jewish Leadership/Elites show for the Lives & Time of others.
As for Mrs. Clinton: It is said when people show you who they are, one ought to believe them. Anyone remember the Honduras, her support for the Elites there & the coup they staged?
How well has that worked out for those poor people there?
So regrettably, Mrs.C ought to be replaced not just given “new inputsâ€.
Looks very much like she has been co-opted, a long time ago and in favour of one side.
Were we poor Palestinians, we would not want her involved in any negotiations concerning us. How to trust her good faith?
I note that one of the options not mentioned, that certainly should be entertained is to end virtually all aid ( US and international) to the palestinians, as well as begin investigations into their criminally perpetrated targeting of Israeli civilians.
It is something that has not been done and it could very well lead to some movement on the part of the Palestinians to seriously consider peace.
Over the last 10 or 20 years, the only approach has been to apply unilateral pressure on Israel in one form or another.
Quite simply, that has not worked. It's time for a new approach.
Israel is the largest recipient of aid out of all aided countries and even the largest continents in the world. Why a country in the OECD and one that brags a thriving economy, as well as a thriving tourism business needs American aid is beyond me. Our money would do better aiding Americans or better aiding Africans throughout the continent.
what israel does is disturbing. it reads like a horror story.
govt for the people by the people? i think not.
in this day and age, for this to still be an ongoing issue is beyond words.
international law should be applied to end this madness.
They are our colony
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/netanyahu-exploited-his-u-s-trip-to-embarrass-obama-1.324266
hilary needs much more than some new inputs . . she needs to be replaced and not by another aipac person
Yes, Madame Secretary is a disaster, on every count
Honduras ? Las year's coup to oust democratically elected Manuel Zelaya in Honduras.as she congratulated coup backed Lobo's election with "it's been an interruption in democracy", as she assured full diplomatic relations with rthe USA would be resumed
Her stance on Venezuela, Colombia, Mexico and other Latin American nations are evidence of her need to be replaced as the US Secretary of State.......as to Israel, that two flag lapel pin she wears so proudly makes clear her sympathies are with the far right Israeli gov't policies.
This is everyones fault for feeling sympathetic towards the Israelis by constantly ignoring UN calls to remove themselves from the OT and they took advantage of everyones sympathy at the cost of the Palestinians. Its not right. Netanyahu laughs at us, Sharon laughed at us, and we are laughing stocks of the world because they all know they laugh at us and take our money to boot.
Who ever heard o having to pay someone off or to offer them an incentive to cease doing something illegal? Never heard of it!
This has been nothing more than a green light these many years for Israel (the great democracy)to do the heinous things it has done in the name of its security, and further to take more Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, for keeps. Let's face it, Israel has no intention of giving up one iota of the West Bank, for after all, Gaza was set aside by Sharon to be the Palestinian nation.
International Law: A Dictionary, Boleslaw Boczek, p. 214.
The territory is occupied. It doesn't belong to Israel. Under the Fourth Geneva Convention, it is illegal to transfer part of your population into occupied territory. This may not conform to what makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. It remains the reality.
Bigotry is as bigotry does.
The first is perception. Hearing that the US army has gamed out an attack on Israel, everyone understands that it is just them keeping their people in practice, and following a policy of having a plan for attacking everyone, so that their plans for attacking those who they might be asked to attack, who it would be politically sensitive to single out, can't be pointed to as evidence that they are in fact being singled out. Hearing that the US State Department has gamed out a scenario where the US throw's it support behind a peace deal that includes right of return for the refugees, a Palestinian capital in Jerusalem, Israel having to settle for no more than its fair share of water, a Palestinian army that could have air defence systems that would make it impossible for the IAF to overfly Palestine, a secure, defendable route between the West Bank and Gaza would not be seen the same way.
The second is practibility. The US army can put put its scenarios into action without having to worry too much about political interference. The State Department has to take political interference into consideration on everything it does.
Too bad that Abbas is too meek a leader to negotiate with Bibi on his own.
He needs lots of help it appears - if not from other Arab nations
But from the hated US as well.
Doesn't look good from where I'm standing...
So funny, it's absurd.
Smelling weakness, Abbas presented Obama with the "settlement freeze" precondition. Otherwise, said the ex-PLO terrorist & Holocaust denier, we won't negotiate. Eager to be "liked" by the Arabs, Obama acceded. Judgment error #1. Then, focused entirely on extracting that unreciprocated concession from Netanyahu, Obama forgot to ask Abbas "what happens if I obtain that freeze"? Judgment error #2. Once Netanyahu caved to pressure & accepted the 10-month moratorium, Abbas showed Obama the middle finger & still did not negotiate. Not remembering "fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me", Obama continued to beg & cajole him. Strike #3. Abbas held fast for 9 out of 10 months of moratorium, then "reluctantly" let himself be "persuaded" to please negotiate; knowing very well that in a months' time he'd have a wonderful opportunity to bail out of talks having made no concession & with the "bonus" of blaming Israel for the failure. That done, he ran to share his victory with his fellow Arab League dictators. This bunch of despots with some of the worst human rights records in the world gave America an ultimatum: sort it out in 1 (one) month – or else! They must've laughed their heads off when they did it. Never before did America look so weak & so inept.
Your whole argument is based on the fallacy that there was such a freeze.
There has not been any freeze. (Look the word up in any halfway reliable dictionary).
Your argument is, as a consequnece, as fallacious as the freeze upon which it depends.
You think Obama did not spend months applying pressure to Abbas?
You think Abbas should have kept on talking despite that there was no freeze and that the Israelis chose to accelerate their construction projects in the West Bank and East Jerusalem?
By that token, you must surely agree that Netanyahu should engage with Hamas despite the damned rockets.
Israel has freshly proven -by it's series of blatantly disingenuous moves over just the last few months - that it's still no more interested in the peace process than it has ever been. The Israeli game is the same as it's been for decades - making it's ethnic cleansing already gained completely irreversible
Hillary herself is essentially a Neocon and is full-on with the Israeli/Neocon agenda of attacking Iran for Israel and everything else the Israelis want.
Israel and her Israel Lobby in the US have been making fools out of US foreign policy for years now - the Israel Lobby can't really make anymore of a fool out of Hillary because Hillary is already sold out and on their side - she's one of 'em and really functioning as a member of the Israel Lobby at this point - even to the right of the Neocon McCain
Netanyahu, along with his Neocons, have been destroying Obama's presidency and these failed negotiations are all part of that.
The Palestinians need to dump this fraudulent peace process, dump Hillary Clinton, cut America out of their destiny, and proceed with unilateral steps.
America could reengage positively by leading UN sanctions over EJ - which would have the salutary side benefit of destroying Bibi and his fascist coalition