When it comes to the question of the Middle East, one must not only hope, but also demand, that the Obama administration will learn from the tragic mistakes of his predecessor, who left Israeli-Arab diplomacy to atrophy for almost seven full years.
There is ample reason for optimism. Standing before an AIPAC audience in June, Mr. Obama clearly committed himself to reversing President Bush’s head-in-the-sand approach and being a proactive President when it comes to the Middle East:
“As President I will work to help Israel achieve the goal of two states–a Jewish state of Israel and a Palestinian state living side-by-side in peace and security and I won’t wait–I won’t wait until the waning days of my presidency. I will take an active role and make a personal commitment to do all I can to advance the cause of peace from the start of my administration.”
Ron
I share your optimism at this juncture, and hope that an alignment of the main players: USA, EC and Russian Federation can now be compiled to overcome all remaining obstacles in the Middle East to the Israel/ Palestine peace process.
It is conceivable that a “grandslam” solution will be found which will include the Syrian track, as well as the Arab League.
Inshallah!