Three States for Two Peoples?
The Jerusalem Post has reported that the Palestinian Authority is planning on creating a new Parliament, one which would govern the West Bank and presumably be dominated by PA chief Mahmoud Abbas’s...
View ArticleEhud Olmert, Company Man
John Podhoretz has noted here that Ehud Olmert managed–somehow–to survive the release of the Winograd Report, which details his grievous failures in the Lebanon war. John didn’t comment further:...
View ArticleOlmert’s Contradictory Strategy
For the first time since Syria withdrew from Lebanon over three years ago, Arab states are in broad consensus that Damascus is still meddling in Lebanese politics. Indeed, Lebanon has been without a...
View ArticleCheney and the Road Map
I have to disagree with you, Eric. Cheney’s visit was interesting. As far as I can tell, the vice president, bless him, threw down a subtle but unmistakable rebuke to his frequent-flier colleague. At...
View ArticleGaza Saga
Today’s infiltration of terrorists from Gaza into Israel is another reminder — as if one was needed — that Hamas and its regional patrons continue to drive events, not the other way around. The...
View ArticleIsraeli Democracy Gags
For nearly a week, the Israeli Prime Minister’s office has been shrouded in scandal–a scandal so major, we’ve been told, that it will probably be the scandal that forces the scandal-ridden Israeli...
View ArticleBlah Blah Blah with Bush
I would like readers to know that my skepticism about Bush’s present visit to Jerusalem does not stem from resentment for the traffic snarls that threaten my peace-seeking efforts to drive my kids to...
View ArticleOlmert & Assad, Strange Bedfellows
To add my two cents to the four cents already thrown in by John and David, there is an appalling similarity in tactics shared by the Israeli prime minister and the Syrian dictator. When they both feel...
View ArticleJohn McCain, the Zionist
This morning, John McCain appeared before the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and delivered a stemwinder about the American relationship to Israel, the threat from Iran, and the war in Iraq....
View ArticleRe: What the Palestinians Really Want
In his post on Friday, Rick correctly identified the myth that has foiled every peace-making effort for decades: namely, that the Palestinians actually want a state. To understand just how untenable...
View ArticleThe Indifferent Ally
We were told during the campaign that Obama was a worldly man. He had lived overseas. He understood America’s “proper” place in the world. (Yes, there’s American exceptionalism, but also Greek and...
View ArticleHere We Go Again
As the Obama administration is poised to proceed with “indirect” talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, the chances for success in the foreseeable future are virtually nil. The PA...
View ArticleHow Grown-Ups Handle Middle East Diplomacy
In her many jaw-dropping assertions at AIPAC yesterday, Hillary Clinton intimated that the U.S. really had no choice but to throw a public temper tantrum over the Israelis’ housing-permit announcement....
View ArticleWaiting for “Isratine”
In Monday’s Washington Post, Jackson Diehl reminds us of what the true stumbling block is on the road to peace. Referring to Condoleezza Rice’s peace efforts during George W. Bush’s second term, he has...
View ArticleObama’s Appeal Is Lost on World Leaders
Adding weight to the dominant critique of Obama’s foreign policy — that it helps our enemies and hurts our allies — is the parlous state of the U.S.-Japan alliance, the bedrock of our security in Asia...
View ArticleHillary Announces Proximity Talks
In remarks on Friday with the Kuwati Deputy Prime Minister, Hillary Clinton repeated her wishy-washy talking point on Iran: I also updated the deputy prime minister on our ongoing efforts, along with...
View ArticleBasic Truths of the Peace Process
Jeffrey Goldberg writes that one reason he does not post more on the peace process is that “there isn’t actually much of a peace process on which to post.” He suggests the problem is that Netanyahu...
View ArticleHow the Guardian Helped Kill the Peace Process
As Alana noted yesterday, the extent of Palestinian concessions during peace talks, once made public, has seriously damaged PA leaders — and the State Department has weighed, noting that things are now...
View ArticleThe Difference Between Public and Private Words
Robin Shepherd, Director — International Affairs at the Henry Jackson Society in London, notes that after the Palestinian leadership “accepts what any reasonable person has been able to accept for...
View ArticleRE: Why Did Peace Talks Fail?
Jonathan, I agree that the failure of the year-long final status negotiations in 2008 demonstrates that even “moderate” Palestinian leaders are unable to make peace — even when given an offer that, as...
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