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Will George Mitchell Change U.S.-Israel Ties?
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by tikun | January 24, 2009 at 04:49 am
82 views | 2 Recommendations | 1 comment
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Good questions about America's new envoy to the Middle East.
Former Sen. George Mitchell has been chosen as President Barack Obama’s Middle East envoy. What are the pros and cons of Mitchell serving in such a role?
Mitchell does have diplomatic experience beyond that of the typical senator. After leaving the Senate, he served as a special envoy to Northern Ireland and helped to bring about a peace agreement among Protestants, Catholics, the government of Ireland, and the United Kingdom. His work was highly praised and, in the words of the Washington Post, he is considered “smart, tough and very patient, attributes that will no doubt come in handy as he attempts to work a deal between Israel and the Palestinians.”
While some might think that resolving and ending this sectarian strife would provide a good paradigm for moving forward in the Middle East, such an analogy is flawed. Many Palestinians question Israel’s legitimacy as a state. Also, there was not a refugee issue to deal with in Ireland, and Catholics did not hold a view that a victory over the Protestants was divinely inspired and mandated. Finally, the IRA did not want to conquer London. The New Republic’s Marty Peretz has gone so far to write that Mitchell’s experience in Northern Ireland is “frankly, no experience at all.”
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Normal 0 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 Jonathan Tobin of Commentary’s Contentions writes that the precedent of the Irish peace deal is not a precedent that has much relevance to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians for a variety of reasons. Even Mitchell seems reluctant to claim that his experience in Ireland will help in the Middle East.
Normal 0 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 Does Mitchell appreciate these dimensions of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians? He seems to have a very rosy view about the prospects of peace between the two warring sides.
But, more importantly, does he fully understand the challenges he faces?
Go to the link for the rest of the story.
Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (1)
at 18:55 on January 24th, 2009
I like George Mitchell and think he will achieve the results. It behooves me to think he has not already been active in working toward ending this weary conflict. They need to change the story. I think all the rubble from Gaza should be bull-dozed into the Ocean and new land created. Perhaps even the extension of new land for Palestinians to live on. I also have suggested that new manmade land be made for Israel so the dispute over land is quelled. Perhaps tearing down the Berlin Wall in Israel to be used as material base to make the new land and create many new jobs. I believe in integration of Israelis and Palestinians, so war targets are eliminated. The promised people are those who work toward ending war, and conflict....It is not about bloodlines toward being a Jew or a Palestinian. In my opinion Jews work toward ending war, and reducing dependency on the Military Complex.
Create Jobs for the People in Palestine and Israel....for peace...
Rev. Jermano