The guy who spent the last decade equivocating between Israel and its intransigent neighbors is inclined to put the onus for peace on the Jewish State? And it’s been obvious since at least the transition that he’d be the one pushing Obama’s “even-handed” Middle East approach, which George Will describes as unworthy of America:
Will C George F. Will was the featured speaker at the dinner Monday evening at the Fairmont Miramar Hotel in Santa Monica, in celebration of the Claremont Review of Books… he took a few questions, including one that led him to reflect on President Obama’s apparent belief that disharmony among nations results from misunderstandings that can be cured by dialogue and communication (and the force of his own personality) — a view that Will characterized as reflecting a 1930s approach to foreign policy:
“They said ‘Well, who would be best for Israel?’ And I responded ‘Of course it would be Ronald Reagan.’ They said ‘Why?’ I said — ‘Two reasons: he believes in aircraft carriers. He believes in the projection of American power. Second, he is a romantic. He’s got the story of Israel, plucky little Israel.’ You need both. You need aircraft carriers and you need to appreciate the fact that Israel is an embattled salient of our values in a bad neighborhood. It is unworthy of the United States to aspire to be even-handed between those who would destroy and those who would preserve the only democracy in that region.”
Give this to Mitchell – he’s nothing if not consistent:
The regional agreement that the Obama administration is trying to push forward is not only about peace between Israel and the Palestinians, but also peace between Israel and both Syria and Lebanon, US special Middle East envoy George Mitchell said on Wednesday, on the eve of trips to both Beirut and Damascus. Mitchell’s comments came at the outset of a meeting with opposition head Tzipi Livni that concluded two days of meetings in Israel and the Palestinian Authority… While the State Department’s Jeffrey Feltman and the US National Security Council’s Dan Shapiro have traveled to Syria twice since US President Barack Obama was sworn into office in January, this will be Mitchell’s first visit to Damascus and – according to diplomatic sources – indicates an interest in involving Syria in the new US-propelled process.
Yes that agreement would include the strategically critical Golan Heights and no, the Arab states that Obama reached out to won’t budge on even the most minor condition.
Interesting that Assad would meet with Obama’s envoys during the election, pull back from peace negotiations until the Inauguration hoping for a better deal, and turn out to be right. He’s just lucky I guess.
The Obama administration, by the by, spent $1 million to build Mitchell comfortable offices in Israel. Stephen Walt was pretty psyched, saying that it signaled that Obama would be downgrading the US-Israel alliance. Unsurprisingly, he also turned out to be right.
References and previously after the jump…
References:
* Mitchell report missed it [Pipes]
* George Mitchell to be Mideast "Peace" Envoy?? [Rosen]
* George Will at the Claremont Dinner [JCI]
* Mitchell: Peace includes Syria, Lebanon [JPost]
* ‘PM should use speech to accept Arab peace plan’ [JPost]
* White House: Arab States Will Tone Down Their “Israel Has To Commit Suicide” Demands. Arab States: No We Won’t. [MR]
* Syria: On Second Thought, We’re Gonna Wait A Few More Months Before Talking About A Peace Deal (UPDATED AND BUMPED: Assad Convinced By Malley Not Brzezinski?) [MR]
* U.S. to spend $1m on accommodations for Mideast envoy George Mitchell [Ha'aretz]
* Obama Envoy George Mitchell: I’m Moving In! [MR]
Previously:
* Israeli Officials: Hey, It’s Almost As If Obama’s Trying To Detonate The US-Israeli Relationship
* No Kidding: Obama To Pressure Israel On Its Nuclear Deterrent
* Australia Embraces Anti-Israel Diplomacy In Anticipation Of Obama Administration
