(Newsweek) Dan Ephron - Experience has shown that the composition of Congress does not necessarily determine Washington's approach to the Middle East. The most relevant example would be President Clinton's dealings with Israel during his second term. Though Republicans had a majority in both the House and the Senate, Clinton managed to force Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu into withdrawing from parts of the West Bank under an interim deal with the Palestinians. "Yes, a Republican Congress will raise the domestic political cost of confronting Israel," says Jonathan Rynhold, an expert on Israel-U.S. relations at the BESA Center for Strategic Studies in Tel Aviv. "But there are plenty of ways to pressure Israel without Congress." The bottom line: U.S. policy won't change much as far as Israel is concerned.
2010-11-04 11:34:41Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive