Mideast Peace Won't Happen Without America

Michael Levy, The Times May 15, 2009

When we look at the history of peace negotiations in the Middle East one of the more surprising lessons is that we shouldn't look at the history. Previous attempts to find a solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict have become bogged down in arguments over past injustices. To be successful, this latest attempt must start with a clean page.

On that page is the opening question: how can we move forward for the benefit of all people in the region? This was the real thrust of the Pope's message when he called yesterday for a sovereign Palestinian homeland even though some in Israel may interpret it differently.

It helps that we start with a new US President. What history does teach us is that nothing will be achieved without America.

So it is encouraging to see President Obama making the right moves. He was right to bring in George Mitchell and to appoint an envoy on the ground. That he is going to Cairo to make a key address on June 4 and meet regional leaders is very interesting. That he is not going to Israel is significant. Only the US can move the peace process forward and if the man in charge makes it clear that he wants a deal, the people on the negotiating front line are far more likely to succeed.

But to end a conflict that has raged for more than 60 years will require determination and tenacity. Does the US have the will to see this through? From the White House the need to deal with the Taleban might seem a higher priority. But if President Obama's team genuinely fears war in the Middle East within the next 12 months, as King Abdullah of Jordan suggested in The Times , priorities may shift.

King Abdullah described his role in helping to bring the parties together. There are a lot of them to corral. A solid deal will require the agreement first of Israel and the seemingly leaderless Palestinians. It must include President Mubarak of Egypt, the King of Saudi Arabia, President Assad of Syria and the Lebanese. Beyond the Middle East, Russia, with its links to Syria and Iran, must have a role. So too must the EU, which has shown its willingness to pay up in support of progress in the past. Of all the interested parties, the UN is probably the least relevant now.

The number of issues to be agreed is legion. First there is security, then there are borders, then Jerusalem, then refugees... the list is long. The most President Obama can hope to do with his peace plan is to sort out the macro issues and a solid framework that all parties will agree and adhere to. The micro issues will take generations to resolve.

Lord Levy was Tony Blair's special envoy to the Middle East, 1998-2007

Stop the navel gazing. Jordan is Palestine. A large segment of the territory designated in 1929 by the League of Nations to be the Jewish homeland was given to the Hashemite family by Britain for past favours. The population of Jordan is 69% Palestinian(Syrian/Saudi) the solution is simple.

charley george, london, england

Israeli Ambassador Abba Eban said it thirty years ago; "With American everything is possible, without her nothing is possible."

jL Ronish, seattle, us

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