In the past two weeks we have witnessed a great deal of press coverage of the escalating diplomatic row between Israel and the US over Israeli illegal
settlement construction in occupied Palestinian territory.
During my trip through the Middle East following the 2008 Presidential elections, I saw and heard a great deal of hope that the US would now play an evenhanded role in helping to resolve the regional conflicts. Following Obama’s Cairo and Istanbul speeches and his Nowruz (New Year) message to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, hope continued to rise.
Since then, however, the hopefulness has declined precipitously as conflict has continued unabated with no effective US response. Loss of hope is a likely precursor to violence, particularly if it follows increased expectations.
Given this dynamic, I am confused as to why the Obama administration has chosen this time and this issue to instigate a diplomatic confrontation. Last year the US lost a lot of credibility when, after demanding a complete settlement freeze and having Prime Minister Netanyahu refuse and publicly stonewall, the US backed away. Secretary of State Clinton called Israel’s partial slow down of settlement construction “unprecedented”.
The US administration has since ignored such Israeli actions as its murder of a Hamas official in Dubai, its passport identity theft of British, French, German, Italian, and Australian citizens, its use of US financial institutions to produce fraudulent charge cards, its killing of Palestinian protesters and its continued settlement construction. Why pick the announcement of 1600 new settlement units while VP Joe Biden was visiting Israel to instigate a major diplomatic crisis?
Perhaps the former senior Senator from Delaware was embarrassed. I know US senators have big egos, “but really”.
Perhaps the US was upset that Israel created a distraction just as the US was trying to mobilize international support for a confrontation with Iran.
Whatever the reason, now that the crisis with Israel has occurred, Obama had better be prepared to “win”. Backing down again will destroy any remaining credibility that the US has in the region and eliminate any chance for the US to be a force for a peaceful solution.
Never start a conflict that you can’t win. We should have learned that in Iraq and Afghanistan.
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