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Intelligence Experts: Mideast Status Quo Sustainable, But Not Preferable

(Harvard Crimson) Forrest K. Lewis - Former director of the CIA David H. Petraeus and Meir Dagan, former director of Israel's intelligence service, the Mossad, analyzed the prospects for future peace in the Middle East at the John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum at Harvard University on Monday. Dagan asserted that the Palestinians are unwilling to make any immediate compromises, a result of what he calls the "legacy of [Yasser] Arafat." For a lasting settlement, he said, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Jordan, and other surrounding countries would have to come to an agreement about the rights to holy places. According to Petraeus, the once widely held Israeli view that the current situation is not sustainable has become less prevalent due to Israel's strengthening security forces. Petraeus said that Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system and security barriers have shielded Israel from many of the attacks and suicide bombers that were a daily occurrence a decade ago. "I'm not so sure the status-quo from Israel's perspective is not sustainable. You have now the best security that Israel has had in a number of years, if not longer," Petraeus said. Dagan and Petraeus agreed that although increased security measures could allow the status-quo to be sustainable, it is not preferable. "There is a real desire from both sides to reach eventually a peace agreement," Dagan said.
2014-04-09 00:00:00
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