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Kerry's Delusions about Mideast Peace
(Washington Post) Aaron David Miller - John Kerry's recent failed effort to get the Israelis and the Palestinians closer to a peace agreement shows what happens when you see the world the way you want it to be rather than the way it really is. He wanted talks far more than the Israelis and the Palestinians did. The secretary of state fell into one of the classic traps of negotiation and mediation: He became convinced of his own indispensability and centrality to the process - and badly exaggerated his ability to achieve a breakthrough. Without enough urgency to do a deal, the talks became Kerry's process far more than one fashioned and owned by Israel and the Palestinians. The writer, a vice president at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, has served as a Middle East adviser for Republican and Democratic secretaries of state.