(Foreign Policy) Aaron David Miller - The Obama administration has ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in which Americans are being killed and wounded, an intelligence/homeland security defense that has been proven profoundly wanting, and a set of domestic priorities in economics and health care. All of this will continue against the backdrop of midterm congressional elections in 2010 in which the Democrats may suffer significant losses. It's not that Obama doesn't care about the Arab-Israeli issue, but it's not the fulcrum of his foreign-policy agenda. He doesn't need Arab-Israeli peace to be considered a consequential president. The coming year may well bring a resumption of negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians. The Obama administration is reportedly working on letters of assurance that might enable both sides to stay at the table once they get there. Both Israelis and Palestinians need the talks to resume: Abbas to show that he's still relevant, particularly if Hamas pulls off the prisoner exchange with the Israelis, and Netanyahu, who wants to show that he's a peacemaker.
2010-01-08 08:38:40Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive