3/10/10

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.  The U.S. is engaged in two wars in the broader region, attempting to roll back Iran's nuclear ambitions, dealing with the rise of terrorist networks, and supporting the safe flow of the region's oil.  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.    

In addition, while the United States is committed to the security of its long-time ally Israel, it is also committed to helping Israel achieve peace with its neighbors, particularly the Palestinians, in order to ensure Israel's safety, survival and integration into the region. This is also a key component of American national security goals in the region and why the U.S. has historically called for an end to Israeli settlement construction in order to achieve the goal of Israeli-Palestinian peace.  Within this context, Israel's announcement yesterday to build more settlements damages overall American interests in the process.  Despite this reality, extreme conservatives and neoconservatives continue to attack the Obama administration for its pursuit of longstanding American policies in the region, undercutting American national security interests in the process.                                                                                                                                   

Israel announces new settlements during Biden visit to re-launch peace negotiations, undermining American foreign policy and contradicting past Israeli commitments to the U.S.  Vice President Biden's visit to re-launch peace talks between the Israelis and the Palestinians took a rocky turn yesterday, following the announcement that Israel would begin construction of 1,600 new housing units in East Jerusalem.  Soon after the announcement, Biden condemned the decision, "saying it ‘undermines the trust' and ‘runs counter' to hard-fought U.S. efforts to advance Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations."  In a statement released yesterday, the Vice President said that "[t]he substance and timing of the announcement, particularly with the launching of proximity talks, is precisely the kind of step that undermines the trust we need right now and runs counter to the constructive discussions that I've had here in Israel."

Israel's settlement expansion comes after an agreement by the Israeli government to freeze construction on settlement buildings in the West Bank, following urging from the Obama administration, which viewed the measure as an important confidence building gesture necessary for re-starting Middle East peace talks.  However, as the New York Times noted, Israel "exempted Jerusalem from the moratorium because Israel has annexed East Jerusalem and considers it part of its united capital."  As an earlier New York Times piece pointed out, this exemption contravened the ‘Road Map' plan "agreed to by the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations, the so-called quartet, and signed by Israel."  The agreement also calls for a stop to all new construction in Gaza and the West Bank, including Jerusalem. [Laura Rozen, 3/9/10. Vice President Biden, via Politico, 3/9/10. NY Times, 3/10/10. NY Times, 6/28/09. Middle East ‘Road Map', via CSM, 5/8/03]

National security experts agree that Israeli-Palestinian peace is in the American national security interest.  Bipartisan national security experts agree that Israeli-Palestinian peace is in the national security interests of the United States.  The Israeli settlements issue impedes such a development, including productive peace negotiations.  As Congressman Gary Ackerman (D-NY), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committees' Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia and a longtime supporter of American-Israeli relations said in a statement entitled, "Ackerman Urges Freeze on Settlement Construction, Not Growing Families," that a settlement freeze would "set the stage for those negotiations to begin in earnest."  Because of the perpetuation of the conflict, American credibility in the Arab world is undermined, limiting our policy options in the region.  For example, the bipartisan Iraq Study Group, led by former Republican Secretary of State James Baker and former Democratic Chairman of the House International Affairs Committee Lee Hamilton, found that "The United States cannot achieve its goals in the Middle East unless it deals directly with the Arab-Israeli conflict and regional instability."  Similarly, former CENTCOM Commander and Retired four-star Marine General Anthony Zinni said that "If there were ongoing negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, it would have been easier for the U.S. to get international support for the war in Iraq."

While the Israelis and Palestinians are the parties most directly responsible for bringing about a resolution to their conflict, history shows that active American diplomatic engagement on this issue is a key ingredient for helping the parties to achieve their peace goals.  Richard Haass and Martin Indyk wrote last year in Foreign Affairs that "the vast majority of Middle Eastern states still look to the United States as the ultimate guarantor of their security and the power most able to help them achieve their objectives."  And Dan Kurtzer, former Ambassador to both Israel and Egypt wrote about the need for active U.S. engagement, when he stated that "If the past is any guide, the only hope is for the U.S. to play a creative, determined, bold, pro-active role."[Gary Ackerman, via Peace Now, 6/4/09. General Anthony Zinni, Haaretz, 3/10/10. Report from the Iraq Study Group, 12/6/06. Foreign Affairs, January/February 2009. Daniel Kurtzer, 3/9/10]

Extreme conservatives attempt to undermine President's peace policy and longstanding bipartisan American policy on the Middle East peace process, forsaking American security interests. Conservatives are misconstruing the discussion on Israeli settlements and harming U.S. efforts to promote a peace agreement.  Such behavior undermines longstanding bipartisan American policy and only serves to score cheap political points against the Obama administration. 

Charles Krauthammer: "Among all the bromides and lofty sentiments, he (President Obama) issued but one concrete declaration of new American policy: "The United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements," thus reinforcing the myth that Palestinian misery and statelessness are the fault of Israel and the settlements.  Blaming Israel and picking a fight over "natural growth" may curry favor with the Muslim "street." But it will only induce the Arab states to do like Abbas: sit and wait for America to deliver Israel on a platter. Which makes the Obama strategy not just dishonorable but self-defeating."  [Charles Krauthammer, Washington Post, 6/5/09]

Sarah Palin: "I disagree with the Obama administration on that," Palin told Barbara Walters. "I believe that the Jewish settlements should be allowed to be expanded upon, because that population of Israel is, is going to grow. More and more Jewish people will be flocking to Israel in the days and weeks and months ahead. And I don't think that the Obama administration has any right to tell Israel that the Jewish settlements cannot expand." [Sarah Palin, ABC, 9/17/09]

Elliot Abrams: "For reasons that remain unclear, the Obama administration has decided to abandon the understandings about settlements reached by the previous administration with the Israeli government. We may be abandoning the deal now, but we cannot rewrite history and make believe it did not exist." [Elliot Abrams, WSJ, 6/26/10]

Liz Cheney: "It is a very complicated issue and the Road Map does talk about settlements. ...But there's the issue of, in existing settlements, if a family has a baby, are you allowed to build another room in the house? ... I think there's no question that this White House has gone much further in saying to the Israelis, "you must absolutely stop all of it." And without, in my view, being as demanding of the Palestinians in terms of the security side of this equation." [Liz Cheney, 9/4/10]

What We're Reading

As much as half the food aid sent to Somalia is diverted from needy people to a web of corrupt contractors, radical Islamist militants and local United Nations staff members, according to a new Security Council report.

NATO forces upcoming mission into Afghanistan's Kandahar province will be slower and more measured that the recent operation in Marjah, say commanders.

A tour of the United States arranged by the State Department to improve ties to Pakistani legislators ended in a public relations fiasco when the members of the group refused to submit to extra airport screening in Washington.  They are now being hailed as heroes on their return home.

Official vote tallies on the Iraqi election start to come out today; meanwhile, a last-minute disqualification of some candidates could mar election results.

After months of having negotiation offers spurned, the Obama Administration is shifting its policy on Iran, relying more on a strategy of supporting opposition groups and enacting sanctions.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, visting Kabul just days after Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Iran was playing a "double game" in Afghanistan, criticized the U.S. for fighting groups it once supported.

Authorities say a U.S.-born hit man is fighting the brother of a deceased drug lord for control of the Beltran-Leyva cartel, marking what may be the first time an American has risen to the very top ranks of Mexican gangs.

China's exports soared in February, up almost 46 percent from this time last year.

Myanmar's ruling junta has announced a new election law that disqualifies pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi from participating in upcoming national elections.

A new Russia-U.S. treaty on strategic arms reductions will link offensive and defensive armaments, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday.

Commentary of the Day

Tom Engelhardt argues against keeping troops in Iraq saying that, while the country may indeed devolve into chaos, that could, and did, happen with U.S. troops still there.

Jessica Stern examines common assumptions about what factors breed terrorism and says those common assumptions are often unfounded.

Former Attorney General Michael Mukasey explains why you shouldn't judge a lawyer by his clients.