Looks like the Senator's been studying very diligently at the knees of his anti-Israel advisers. Last week he sneeringly smeared his pro-Israel opponents as Likudniks, the nudge-wink euphemism of choice for rabid anti-Israel academics like Juan Cole and Walt and Mearsheimer. This week he's shifting from academic euphemisms to diplomatic ones. YNet interviewed him and didn't bother asking anything about Brzezinski, Malley, Susan Rice, Samantha Power or the rest of his anti-Israel foreign policy team. But they did give him a dozen opportunities to repeat empty slogans about supporting Israel - or, more specifically, Israel's aspirations for peace - and knock down idiotic myths that he's a Muslim. So it was really informative and productive. Still, this quote will be handy in 12-18 months:

I know how much Israelis crave peace. I know that Prime Minister Olmert was elected with a mandate to pursue it. I pledge to make every effort to help Israel achieve that peace, although I will not try to dictate its terms. The principles that will guide me are 1) that Israel's security must be guaranteed; 2) that the status quo is unsustainable over time, and the best long-term guarantee of Israel's security is a negotiated two-state solution with the Palestinians, if it can be achieved; and 3) that Israel has to remain a Jewish state and the Palestinian state must be viable. But success is not guaranteed. Israel must have confidence that the Palestinian leadership is both committed to peace and is able to follow through on its commitments. So the approach we have to take with respect to negotiations is that you sit down and talk, but you have to suspend trust until you can see that the Palestinian side can follow through.

The slight-of-hand is the word "viable", which was formally introduced into the peace process only recently. It functions as a not very subtle placeholder for massive Israeli concessions:

But between the lines, the thing that was debated on this session of the "Middle East Institute" annual conference is the familiar phrase "viable Palestinian state". Look how often it is used now: Saeb Erakat of the PA used it yesterday in a Financial Times Commentary. Haaretz's Amira Hass used it the day before. The argument repeats itself in numerous news items and opinion pieces: Can it be "viable" in the small territory of Judea and Samaria? How should it be connected to Gaza? And what if the settlement blocks stay - especially those of Ariel and Ma'aleh Adumim - does this render viability impossible?

The State Department, especially, loves the phrase.

References:
* We're Considering the Possibility that Walt and Mearsheimer Might Not Be Faking Their Ignorance [MR] [MR]
* Obama lays out plan for confronting Iran [YNet]
* Obama Now Actively Channeling Rabid Anti-Israel Academics, Adopting Their Dumbest Anti-Israel Euphemisms [MR]
* Obama's Foreign Policy Advisers Not Exactly Fans Of The Jewish State (Plus: Brzezinski Snubs Israel After Tete-A-Tete With Assad) [MR]
* Israel's interests take primacy - an interview with Dore Gold [bitterlemons]
* The true meaning of a viable Palestinian state [Ha'aretz]

Previously:
* Syria Responds To US Peacemaking Team By Sentencing Political Dissident [MR]
* Obama Complains About Smears From Jewish Groups... And He's Not Totally Wrong (Plus: He's Still Kind Of Wrong) [MR]
* "Unprecedented" Power Grab By Iranian Ultra-Hardliners Casts Doubt On "Pragmatists Are Winning" Liberal Sophistication [MR]