The long-stalled "negotiations" between fractured Palestinian leadership and Israeli leaders who seem to have turned the old land-for-peace saw on its head by trading the future of their state for illegal settlements are just one example. Consider Hamid Karzai, Afghanistan's president, who has cheerfully flouted U.S. demands for real accountability despite the fact that American forces are the only thing keeping him in power. At least Iraq's troubled political process has managed to take a step forward with a new election law shepherded through the Legislature by U.S. diplomats -- at one point, Ambassador Chris Hill was seen chivvying laggardly Iraqi politicians toward the vote.
But while Friedman's diagnosis is right, his prescription is hemmed in by the same conventional wisdom he seeks to violate. The Times columnist is correct to observe that the U.S. wants peace in the Middle East and in Afghanistan -- more than many local stakeholders; there's an incentive to maintain the status quo, even at the expense of American resources, time, and lives. But the solution isn't walking away, at least for liberal internationalists who correctly see that the future of the United States is bound up with international security and a global economy.
What Friedman's analysis really implies is that the United States needs to be more willing to use its leverage. While he suggests we shouldn't involve ourselves in the peace process without direct requests from the players, that's not the right conclusion. Instead, the U.S. should change the status quo itself. For example, the U.S. could make at least some of our aid to Israel conditional on stopping illegal settlements or alleviating the humanitarian disaster in Gaza. Such a decision might be, for now, politically anathema -- but the fact that nothing has been accomplished yet in the Middle East isn't just because the current situation suits both Israeli and Palestinian leaders. It's also because the U.S. hasn't done anything to change the facts on the ground.
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