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Source: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/postpartisan/2010/03/obama_and_netanyahu_pointless.html
U.S.-Engineered Deadlock Stalls Peace Process
(Washington Post) Jackson Diehl - It's now been two weeks since President Obama chose to launch another public confrontation with the government of Benjamin Netanyahu. Meanwhile, Mahmoud Abbas has adopted Obama's demand of a freeze on all new construction in Jerusalem as his own: He's saying he won't begin even the indirect, "proximity" talks he previously agreed to. Which means that, for the second time in a year, the Middle East peace process has been stalled by a U.S.-engineered deadlock. U.S. and Israeli negotiators worked until 3 a.m. Wednesday in an attempt to come up with a formula that would allow the talks to go forward. So far, no luck. Finally, Obama added more poison to the U.S.-Israeli relationship when he refused to allow non-official photographers to record his meeting with Netanyahu, and no statement was issued afterward. Netanyahu is being treated as if he were an unsavory Third World dictator, needed for strategic reasons but conspicuously held at arms length. That is something the rest of the world will be quick to notice. European governments cannot be more friendly to an Israeli leader than the U.S. Would Britain have expelled a senior Israeli diplomat Tuesday because of a flap over forged passports if there were no daylight between Obama and Netanyahu? Obama chose to challenge Netanyahu on a point that is not material to the creation of a Palestinian state. As the Israeli leader has pointed out, previous U.S. administrations and the Palestinians themselves have already accepted that Jewish neighborhoods in and around Jerusalem will be annexed to Israel. Obama picked a fight over something that virtually all Israelis agree on, and before serious discussions have even begun. A new administration can be excused for making such a mistake. That's why Obama was given a pass by many when he made exactly the same mistake last year. The second time around, the president doesn't look naive. He appears ideological - and vindictive.