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Obama Administration Mugged by Reality in Middle East

[Washington Institute for Near East Policy] Robert Satloff - In June, the administration's approach toward both the Israeli-Palestinian issue and Iran's nuclear ambitions was mugged by reality. First, on his maiden visit to Riyadh, the president was rebuffed by the Saudi king, who refused to offer any steps toward normalization with Israel. Several days later, U.S. willingness to resolve the nuclear file with Iran by negotiating a deal directly with the Iranian leadership was upset by the uprising of the Iranian people against the theft of their presidential election, exposing serious fissures in the regime. Netanyahu is highly unlikely to offer the Palestinians what former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert offered in his private talks with Abbas last year. Abbas has been led to believe that with time, the Israelis can only improve their offer, so there is no reason for him not to wait. So an impasse was in the cards. In the broader Middle East, the Iran nuclear file is a much higher priority than the Arab-Israeli peace process. The stakes are higher; the urgency is greater; the clocks are ticking faster. The writer is executive director of The Washington Institute.
2009-11-17 06:00:00
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