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.

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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.

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