Obama Speech Signals a U.S. Shift on Middle East

[bemildred]

WASHINGTON — It was just a phrase at the end of President Obama’s news conference on Tuesday, but it was a stark reminder of a far-reaching shift in how the United States views the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and how aggressively it might push for a peace agreement.

When Mr. Obama declared that resolving the long-running Middle East dispute was a “vital national security interest of the United States,” he was highlighting a change that has resulted from a lengthy debate among his top officials over how best to balance support for Israel against other American interests.

This shift, described by administration officials who did not want to be quoted by name when discussing internal discussions, is driving the White House’s urgency to help broker a Middle East peace deal. It increases the likelihood that Mr. Obama, frustrated by the inability of the Israelis and the Palestinians to come to terms, will offer his own proposed parameters for an eventual Palestinian state.

Mr. Obama said conflicts like the one in the Middle East ended up “costing us significantly in terms of both blood and treasure” — drawing an explicit link between the Israeli-Palestinian strife and the safety of American soldiers as they battle Islamic extremism and terrorism in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/15/world/middleeast/15mideast.html?src=mv

[DCBob]

1. Exactly. The endless feud between the Israelis and Palestinians is costing the whole world...

"blood and treasure". Its time the US took a more forceful approach to end it.

[Jefferson23]

2. Petraeus, the report is the catalyst. The report is the only new powerful element

inserted in the politics of the situation, coupled with a president who preemptively wins the Noble Peace Prize, and who happens
to be a Democrat.

I have said before, I hope Obama uses the report wisely and with courage.

[bemildred]

3. Interesting times. nt