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While political pundits have been preoccupied with comments about the "47 percent"� that Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney made during a May 17 fundraiser in Boca Raton, Florida, the foreign-policy establishment has been focused on other remarks at the same event. These less-discussed sentiments seemed to reflect the candidate's skepticism about the ability of Washington to achieve an Israeli-Palestinian peace.

In response to question by a donor about how to resolve the "Palestinian problem,"� Romney asserted that "the pathway to peace is almost unthinkable to accomplish."� There is not much that the United States can do, so "you move things along the best way you can,"� he proposed. "You hope for some degree of stability, but you recognize that this is going...