President Barack Obama, who rescued health care reform from the brink of extinction by plunging into the debate with his own plan, is setting his sights on something even more daunting than corralling a herd of congressmen. He might try to jump-start Middle East negotiations by offering his own peace plan.
Now that’s the audacity of hope.
On Thursday, King Abdullah II of Jordan visited the Tribune editorial board and offered a healthy perspective on this. In essence, he said the U.S. president’s involvement is welcome but the responsibility for advancing peace terms falls squarely on the leaders in the Middle East.
“The challenge that we have today is not on American shoulders. … I think it’s up to us to do a lot of the heavy lifting at this stage,” Abdullah said. “Why should the burden be solely on Obama and the Americans to stick their necks out if both parties (Israelis and Palestinians) are not willing to do enough of the groundwork?”
A parade of former U.S. presidents clutching their dashed Mideast ambitions would likely tell Obama the very same thing.
This is hardly a time for optimism in the Mideast. Talks are not just stalled, they’re going backward. The Israelis and Palestinians don’t even sit at the same table anymore. They make contact only indirectly.
The Mideast doesn’t so much need an Obama blueprint to pick apart, like the failed 2002 “road map” offered by the U.S., Russia, the EU and the U.N. The parameters for peace already are pretty well-known.
The Mideast, though, could use a good hard shove from Obama. He does seem intent on delivering that. Washington can exert clout with both Israel and the Palestinians. But the U.S. is especially well-positioned to tell Israel that its recent behavior makes it look more obstinate than engaged.
It is tempting to say this is not a time to prod the sides because things are relatively quiet in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
But the urgency is apparent. With summer approaching, Abdullah warned, the void in peace discussions could easily help kindle another war, maybe in Gaza, maybe between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. He didn’t state this as a threat, he stated it as a cold matter of fact.
“When nothing is moving forward, we mark time until there is a catastrophe, until Israel is militarily engaged with somebody and people say, uh-oh, this has gone too far. … The problem that we have if we stay at the status quo, others in the region are not sitting idly by. The chance of conflict is always very high. … As we work for peace … there are other elements out there that would like to see … bloodshed.”
Indeed, there are disturbing new reports that Syria has delivered accurate, long-range missiles to Hezbollah, meaning it could target Tel Aviv in another conflict.
There’s another strong reason to get talks moving again: The specter of Iran as a nuclear state — a reality that advances every day — threatens the entire region. Two top American military officials said Wednesday that Iran could produce enough nuclear material for a bomb within a year. A nuclear-armed Iran would shake the ground under every security equation in the Middle East.
Relations between the U.S. and Israel are chilly at the moment. That’s partly because of the recent diplomatic brouhaha over Israel’s announcement of a housing expansion in Jerusalem as Vice President Joe Biden was visiting. That was a mistake by Israel, which should be freezing such expansions as a gesture of good will to Palestinian leaders.
But that chilly relationship just perhaps might enhance the prospects of the U.S. finally achieving something in the role of honest broker. Maybe.
First, Israel and the Palestinians have to go back to the table. Still a huge hurdle, given the fractured Palestinian leadership and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s traditionally hard line.
The alternative? If we’re still talking about this 10 years from now, Abdullah concluded, using an American colloquialism that everyone understands, then we’ll all be “facing a world of hurt.”
Again, not a threat. Just a cold matter of fact.
You can hear the editorial board interview with King Abdullah at chicagotribune.com/jordanking and read excerpts on the Commentary page.
