(Politico) Annie Karni - President Trump has taken a surprisingly nuanced approach when it comes to the Middle East, reaching out to both sides to make a serious effort at brokering the "ultimate deal" - peace in the Middle East. Many are still skeptical that he can achieve a deal that has bedeviled ambitious American presidents for decades. At the moment, Trump has more leverage over Netanyahu than his predecessor did in part because of the perception that he is a friend and ally to Israel. "The one thing any American president needs, to have influence, is a perception from the Israeli public that this guy is on their side," said Dennis Ross, who led President Bill Clinton's ill-fated peace push in the 1990s. "What I'm struck by now is how Trump genuinely wants to see something happen. The Greenblatt visit was a very serious one, based on what I heard from both sides." "The Israelis think this is a short-lived gambit," said a foreign policy operative in Washington familiar with the thinking of the Israeli government. "Trump right now is convinced that the Palestinians want a deal....The attitude of the Israelis is, we need to get along for four years; he's fundamentally inclined to like us; and his approach will become better informed by experience in a few months."
2017-04-05 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive