Here is an interesting roundup of critical commentary on the Mideast peace process from former U.S. statesmen by the Voice of America news service. The report was inspired by President Obama’s meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in the Oval Office last Tuesday and contains excerpts of interviews showcased in a 20-minute film titled New Hope for Peace: What America Must Do to End the Israel-Palestine Conflict. In the film, produced by the Foundation for Middle East Peace, former Secretary of State James Baker, former National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft, and former National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski share their insights on the U.S. role in promoting Mideast peace.

Photo Credit: VOA

This report in The New York Times offers details on President Obama’s visit with Hosni Mubarak, President of Egypt, today at the White House:

Mr. Obama welcomed the 81-year-old Egyptian president for his first White House visit in five years, continuing a concerted effort to improve bilateral relations that had been damaged not only by the Iraq war but also by Bush administration criticism of Egypt over matters of democracy and human rights. Mr. Mubarak responded with warmth. He said that the American president had “removed all doubts about the United States in the Muslim world,” referring to what he called Mr. Obama’s “great, fantastic” speech delivered in Cairo in June. “We are moving in the right direction” on restarting peace talks, Mr. Mubarak said.

That sounds very encouraging, but how much movement in the right direction is really going on? The report notes a few minor signs that Israel is making conciliatory efforts on the settlements issue in line with President Obama’s vision for Mideast peace. For the sake of balance and reciprocity, the following sentence should read: The Palestinians and Israel’s Arab neighbors are also making conciliatory efforts. Unfortunately, that does not appear to be the case.  The report notes that President Obama  has called for confidence-building measures (granting overflight rights to Israeli civilian aircraft, increasing cultural cooperation and allowing Israel to open interest sections in foreign embassies abroad) by all sides. This call has been rebuffed by Egypt and other Arab peace partners. In fact, it appears that President Obama’s Cairo speech has not had a positive impact in shaping opinion in the Arab world. This BBC News review of Arab commentary finds deep skepticism about President Obama’s efforts to promote Mideast peace:

Intensive diplomatic efforts by top US officials in the Middle East this week failed to convince Arab commentators that Washington really wants to put pressure on Israel to stop the expansion of Jewish settlements. Most writers pointed out that the talks the US peace envoy George Mitchell, Secretary of Defence Robert Gates and National Security Adviser Jim Jones had in the region, including in Israel, Syria and Egypt, did not achieve the declared “good progress” towards peace.

So while I’m looking for signs that Obama’s meeting with Mubarak today will inspire Egyptian leadership to rally concrete steps for peace in the region, I’m not optimistic. What more can the U.S. do to move all parties closer to the elusive goal of Mideast peace?

Photo Credit: The New York Times

If you’ve not had a chance to watch President Obama’s speech in Cairo, I recommend this site from The New York Times. They’ve placed the video of the speech alongside the text, which makes it easy to follow along, and then if you would like to share your reaction in our comments, we would like to know if you think the speech will help change the Muslim and Arab view of the U.S. role in the world? And for some analysis, we turn to former Foreign Service Officer and FPA blogger Mark Dillen, who offers this roundup of the speech, and the FPA’s Egypt blogger Nathan Field examines Egyptian reactions to the speech.

President Obama has embarked on an important trip abroad, with stops in Saudi Arabia, Germany, France and Egypt. The highlight of the trip is expected to be his speech in Egypt, which the White House is promoting as an address to the Muslim world. The speech has raised expectations and there is no shortage of advice, both foreign and domestic, for what the he should say to the Muslim world. In this op-ed piece, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright offers her advice for President Obama, and in this article, the Christian Science Monitor notes the varied advice coming from the Arab world for Obama’s Cairo speech, which is turning into possibly one of the most important speeches of his young presidency. What advice would you give to President Obama on the eve of this important speech?

Egypt is a critical U.S. ally in the Middle East and the Foreign Policy Association recently produced a Great Decisions documentary entitled From Pharaohs to Facebook to increase awareness of the dramatic changes happening in Egyptian life, culture and politics. As President Obama visits Egypt, take a look at this video for new insight into this important U.S. ally:

The meeting between President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu is now history, and it appears that both leaders gained something from the meeting. President Obama secured assurances from the Israeli leader that new peace talks will begin soon and Prime Minister Netanyahu won a timetable for progress on dealing with Iran’s nuclear program. Despite the American embrace of the two-state solution, the Israeli prime minister did not use that phrase, and it’s becoming clear that Israel will insist on greater security guarantees before returning to that formulation. In this op-ed appearing in The Washington Times, Tony Blankley considers the two-state solution in light of Arab public opinion and notes that even as the two-state solution is the outcome favored by Arab political leaders, it has been rejected by the Arab public, at least according to public opinion data he cites. Given that, it’s unlikely that a Mideast peace agreement, even if signed, would lead to the kind of peace most expect. If that is true, then how can we see a way forward? In this analysis, Carnegie scholar, Nathan Brown uses a question and answer format to explore the details of the two-state solution favored by the U.S. and the other members of the international Quartet of Mideast peace negotiators. This observer is left to conclude the the two-state solution remains a viable long-term solution for the Middle East conflict, but hopes for short-term progress may well meet with disappointment.

Photo: AP/Charles Dharapak

The Great Decisions Television Series is highlighting Egypt, one of the U.S.’s strongest allies in the Middle East. In the episode From Pharaohs to Facebook: Egypt Today, they talk to a wide variety of commentators about life in modern Egypt:

Thirty years after the historic Camp David Peace Accords, Great Decisions traveled to Cairo for a special country report on Egypt.  The goal?  To speak first hand with Egyptian policymakers, academics, bloggers and others living in one of the world’s most dynamic and exciting countries to get a snapshot of Egypt today.  Watch the 26-minute program, which originally aired on PBS, as well as extended interviews with those who will shape the future of the world’s oldest country.

This will be an informative program for those of you interested in understanding this U.S. ally and important player in the quest for Middle East peace.

The United States is continuing to act as a Mideast peace broker, with Secretary of State Clinton making her first visit to the region and setting the stage for what will inevitably be many future visits. This AP report notes that her visit has raised expectations for the “two state solution” while signaling that the U.S. intends to pursue a regional peace strategy rather than focusing exclusively on Israel and the Palestinians:

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton promised Tuesday to work with the incoming Israeli government, but delivered a clear message that could put her at odds with the country’s next leader: Movement toward the establishment of a Palestinian state is “inescapable.”

Clinton also said the U.S. would soon send two envoys to Syria. It was the most significant sign yet that the Obama administration is ready to mend relations with the Damascus regime. The U.S. withdrew its ambassador in 2005, accusing Syria of supporting terrorism.

“We have no way to predict what the future with our relations concerning Syria might be,” Clinton said. “There has to be some perceived benefit of doing so for the United States and our allies and our shared values. But I think it is a worthwhile effort to go and begin these preliminary conversations.”

Nathan Brown, an analyst for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, suggests dramatically that the peace process represented by the U.S. and the Quartet has failed and that it’s time for a new plan. In Palestine and Israel: Time for Plan B he suggests his own road map to peace focusing on a, “short-term cease-fire between Israel and Hamas that can pave the way for a sustainable armistice.” So, is that we the U.S. should strive for, a new cease-fire agreement? That seems a rather meager vision for Mideast peace. Perhaps the new overture to Syria, coming at a time when the U.S. is also making overtures to Iran, suggests that a new grand bargain can be made, a regional security agreement that is both audacious, and yes, hopeful, bringing Israel, the Palestinians, the Syrians and Iran to the peace table.  At some point, Obama and Clinton will have to choose, grand strategy or pragmatic, though, meager gains? As rockets continue to fall on Israel, I wonder what choice Israel would make?

In his inaugural address President Obama offered a new engagement with the Muslim world, specifically addressing them by name and telling them, “To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect.” That new way forward was on full display today as he granted the Arabic satellite network Al-Arabiya his first interview with international reporters. Actually, it wasn't just his first formal interview with the international media, it was his first formal interview with the media since becoming president. According to this video report from MSNBC, that didn't sit too well with the domestic reporters, but Obama's charm offensive is expected to set the stage for a visit to the Mideast region by his new Mideast envoy George Mitchell:

It remains to be seen how this new engagement will be received in the region and if major regional powers (like Iran) will reciprocate Obama's openness to dialogue.

Senator Obama is visiting Israel and the Palestinian territories and using his brief visit to assure both the Israelis and the Palestinians that he will work for peace if he is elected. His visit is prompting both hope and resignation among the two different audiences (The New York Times - Mideast Sees More of the Same if Obama Is Elected):

For what feels like forever, Israelis and their Arab neighbors have been hopelessly deadlocked on how to resolve the Palestinian crisis. But there is one point they may now agree on: If elected president, Senator Barack Obama will not fundamentally recalibrate America's relationship with Israel, or the Arab world.

From the religious center of Jerusalem to the rolling hills of Amman to the crowded streets of Cairo, dozens of interviews revealed a similar sentiment: the United States will ultimately support Israel over the Palestinians, no matter who the president is. That presumption promoted a degree of relief in Israel and resignation here in Jordan and in Israel's other Arab neighbors.

The report suggests that Senator Obama's visit is not generating a sense of hope and optimism for a breakthrough in the ever-stalled Mideast peace process, and it's now clear that any renewed American effort will most likely take place under the existing Quartet sponsorship rather than a new post-election peace initiative by either U.S. presidential candidate. This means that there is still overwhelming international support for a Mideast peace agreement, and now, thanks to the Arab Initiative, there is support from Israel's Arab neighbors as well.

The American Diplomacy website has posted an essay entitled Reconciling the Arab Initiative With Israel's Core Requirements for Peace in which Professor Alon Ben-Meir, a professor at New York University with extensive contacts among both Arabs and Israelis, argues that the current situation is "bound to unravel into something even more chaotic and catastrophic if action is not taken." His essay seeks to reconcile Israel's strategic needs with the Arab peace plan and suggests that this time in history, with the war in Iraq and regional fears over Iran's military ambitions, presents a unique opportunity to forge a peace agreement. Timing, as they say, is everything in politics, and it may be that the new American president, whether it's McCain or Obama, will suddenly find that he is the right man at the right time to bring the Israelis and the Palestinians together.