Report
23 May 2011
Recognizing that the status quo is unsustainable, President Obama sought last week to revive the long-stalled Middle East peace process. He reiterated his case yesterday at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) Policy Conference, saying "[W]e can't afford to wait another decade, or another two decades, or another three decades to achieve peace. The world is moving too fast." Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to speak to the AIPAC conference today as well as to address a joint session of Congress tomorrow. While it will be a long and difficult process, going forward experts agree that lasting peace is in the interest of both U.S. and Israeli security.
Report
14 July 2010
A brand new attack group has taken partisanship over Israel policy to a new low, spreading fear and smears in order to undercut American policy goals in the Middle East. While the assertions put forward by the Emergency Committee for Israel are nothing more than retreads of previous broader arguments against the Obama administration's foreign policy, they represent a new level of political cynicism about how Americans view the Middle East. In particular, their political attacks are meant to deceive voters into thinking that Middle East peace is bad for American security. It is clear that the goal of this cynical attempt to undo decades of bipartisan American efforts to bring peace to the Middle East - efforts that have been historically supported by American ally Israel, including the current Netanyahu government - is to score a partisan victory against the Obama administration. Yet while this group would revel in such a political outcome, the wreckage of their efforts would be felt in the real world, with disastrous consequences for Israel's long term survival, Palestinians' aspirations, and American national security aims in the most sensitive region in the world.
Report
23 March 2010
American leadership is once again being challenged in the Middle East. But this time, it is not Iran, Iraq, or some other predictable actor that is doing the challenging. This time, it is Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu who is stating, unequivocally, that while he supports American efforts to promote Middle East peace, he rejects American calls for actions that the Obama administration has identified as necessary to move the process forward. In particular, Netanyahu publicly rejected the Administration's call to stop Israeli settlement construction in East Jerusalem, directly rebuking longstanding American policy and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's call for such a move at this week's AIPAC conference.
Report
17 March 2010
For much of the past six months, the Obama administration has engaged in quiet, behind the scenes diplomacy with Israel and the Palestinians to try to get peace talks between them back on track. This shift occurred after having spent much of 2009 putting public pressure on both of the parties to resolve the conflict. In response to this shift however, and despite Vice President Biden's nearly week-long goodwill tour to Israel, the Netanyahu Government announced new settlement starts in order to cover its right flank within its coalition. Though there are obvious policy differences between the Israeli government and the Obama administration, it does not change the urgency of reaching a peace agreement. Achieving a peace deal is a priority for America's national security leadership.
Report
10 March 2010
Yesterday's announcement by Israel to continue expanding settlements in East Jerusalem has demonstrated fragility of the situation there, which has direct implications for American national security interests in the region. America's national security interests are deeply intertwined in the Middle East. American national security leaders and experts agree that as long as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict persists, the U.S. will lack the credibility it needs to ensure that its vital security interests in the region are achieved. This is why the Obama administration, as well as multiple predecessor Administrations from both parties, have made resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict a core foreign policy priority.
Report
5 May 2009
A series of high-level meetings this week points up the interconnections in the Obama administration’s comprehensive strategy for the Middle East. The most high-profile of these meetings will take place between President Obama and Israeli President Shimon Peres, while Secretary Gates is in the Middle East meeting with Egyptian and Saudi leaders. The new approach rejects the neoconservative trope that the road to Jerusalem goes through Baghdad or Tehran or Damascus. There is no quick route to peace in the Middle East; the road goes through all of these places, but it ultimately begins and ends in Jerusalem.
Report
5 March 2009
Fewer than 50 days into his Presidency, Barack Obama has begun to set a different framework for how America deals with the Middle East. There is no question that today America’s choices and flexibility in the region are far greater than they were only 50 days ago.
Report
11 February 2009
The mixed results of yesterday’s Israeli elections are likely to throw the country into political chaos for the next few weeks. Whether the final result is a national unity government led by Livni or a right wing government led by Netanyahu, the new political situation will likely make any peace efforts more difficult.
Report
7 January 2009
News out of Gaza this morning seems to have taken a more hopeful turn
with some progress toward an Egyptian-French plan that is being offered
to generate a ceasefire – though the situation remains unclear.
Moreover, Israel has declared a three hour a day truce to allow
humanitarian aid to enter Gaza and Hamas officials are saying they will
not fire rockets during those three hours. There are some welcome indications that the Bush administration may be
working with Egyptian and French negotiators behind the scenes, but the
reality is that the US remains conspicuously absent.
Press Release
Washington, D.C. 7 January 2009
