Obama: U.S. expectations for Middle East peace too high

The world wonders what in the world Israel has done for peace that you think is worth mentioning. A 90 day freeze on settlements, while Israel continues to build 3,000 housing units in the West Bank and places Jerusalem off limits for any discussion of building limits? Continuing the harsh and humiliating occupation in the West Bank? Maintain the near genocidal blockade over Gaza? Remain in violation of international law? At which one of those peace offers should the Palestinians grasp? Abbas said there could be peace in two days with the offer Olmert made in 2009. The EU agreed and the Quartet told Israel to make the offer binding. It never did. Israel can offer a solid peace deal tomorrow: agree to dismantle the settlements, move the security wall to Israeli territory, lift the blockade on Gaza, and withdraw from East Jerusalem. There would be peace so quickly your head would swim. Then, perhaps, Israel could rejoin the world community and no longer be considered a rogue nation.

You,re a nut case mister ,as $ 100 a day of your hard earned taxes is paid to Hamas tunnel diggers and $1 million a month of American taxpayers money is wasted on the fascist Muslim state Hamastan .

I like your post. Many people are now seeing clear on the zionists intentions, lied, operations, manipulations, etc. The next step is to force them to respect the law.

Greg, if we were going to take a more even-handed stance then the early steps would involve reducing all forms of aid to both sides. Then depending on events that would be outside of US control, we might find ourselves doing more active steps like enforcing a no-fly zone over both areas. But I'm not really serious. I'm just getting less patient with the whole situation. It looks more and more like Israel will be on a wartime terrorist-threatened footing forever or until they lose a war, with no friend in the world except the USA. I felt a lot more supportive when you looked like the good guys. You don't look like good guys any more. Of course, you feel like all the bad things you do are forced on you, but I think most of the other bad guys feel that way too. Like, the Syrians don't really want to drop poison gas on Israeli cities, it's just that you threatened them with nukes. This whole thing looks less and less like anything the USA ought to support.

see how fast on their knees the Israelis will beg. Let's not kid ourselves Israel loaf of bread is US paid. And Israel is taking the US to the cleaners by jeopardizing it's foreign policy. The problem is that Israeli intransigence is making the most hated nation on the face of earth and will be hard to recognize by common people. The state peace solution is a silly thought just by looking at Egypt and Jordan.

"it`s time for the USA to reduce our level of involvement" "If the USA took the lead ,,," Your solution sounds like it would take a whole lot more involvement with the naval blockade, nuclear disarmament, and no-fly zone enforcement. Why don't you just admit that you resent the fact that the Arabs are the gang that couldn't shoot straight and only by crippling Israel would they ever come out on top. The solution is simple; trade land for security. Arab land for Israeli security, and its not even Arab land, but land they hoped was theirs. Israel can accept no less and survive.

Palestine, offering full recognition of the sovereignty of Israel, and got less than nothing for doing that. Perhaps if Israel were to try a gesture that went beyond PR (you know, like a freeze that actually stopped new buildings from going up, rather than limit them to no more than what usually goes up) or even one that was no more than PR, but showed a recognition of Palestinians as equals (like announcing that the goal of the talks was a Palestinian state, not a Palestinian bantustan, destined to forever be an Israeli client state, with the Knesset having veto power over it), there would be some movement forward.

After the big wake up call over losing Kennedy's senate seat Obama is circling the wagons. He hopes all the Jews upset by his bullying will accept his contrition and rejoin the team before the Nov. elections. 'He did his best; or 'a tough situation requires tough love' will be the next apology coming out of the white house. Obama has bungled his way through too many of the world's problems and even received an award based on nothing more than anticipation. It will be good to see the Dems wings clipped in 10 short months

an occasional war here and there, help bring balance to the senses.

I think that President Obama needs to get some positive results between today and one year from now. That will be the mid-term elections. Right now the Republicans are starting to smell blood. The loss of Massachusets to the Republicans is an ominous sign of the future.

In my opinion the West turns too much of a blind eye to some of Israels more questionable behavior. Europe has guilt pangs about the holocuast and the US has a strong local Jewish population and established behaviour patterns from the Cold War when Israel was with the West and many Arab states largely sided with the USSR. Turkey has different vision and due to its non acceptance into the European Union largely a free hand. Turkey has the capacity to unite the Islamic world, only some who also support Israels right to exist, against Israel. Turkey has indicated that it is frustrated at the slow pace of peacemaking. Personally I would take Turkeys frustration seriously.

So sorry to delude you and your progressive illness but the palestinians have brought all of this on themselves. Now they will suffer and continue to suffer until they rid themselves of hamas/hezbollah. Thinkers like you..hate Israel first people like you....make me ill. Obama has erred in the U.S. and his lust for world recognition at Israel's expense has failed also. Only people like you..people who live in a paper bag cannot grasp what is going on...you want to give the palestinians the tools to dismantle Israel..that will not stand with strong minded and informed people.

So it's time for the USA to reduce our level of involvement. We need to stop all military aid to both sides. We need to stop all economic aid to both sides. We need to stop all diplomatic support to both sides. We need to stop all military cooperation with both sides. We need to deny MFN status to both Israel and Palestine. If they don't change their minds, we should impose economic sanctions on both sides. Perhaps this should eventually turn into a naval blockade of both sides, accompanied by a no-fly zone over both sides. Obviously, neither side should be allowed to have nuclear weapons. If the USA took the lead in even-handed treatment of both sides, I wonder whether the rest of the world would go along.

Now I'm going to go after the banks, as I believe those are owned by Jews, according to my communist and moslem mentors, plus the Reverend Wright, my family's pastor for 20 years.

The BO has always over estimated himself- and under estimated Israel

He made plain that loan guarantees to Israel for the next ten years were set in stone while he was running for President. Despite some lame attempts at backtracking on that commitment he has demonstrated his credentials as a vacuous but eloquent 'Stepford' President. It is my firm belief that he is some new form of android and has been designed by a US corporation, funded by Wall St$$$ in order to create the perfect President for the kleptocrats who now run the US.

"Obama: The gutless, one-term wonder" - peacelover He has neither stood up to his enemies or for his friends.

May we inquire: what does President Obama know about the Middle East, and when did he know it. For this observer what prez is saying is: I thought I'd do better at pressuring Israel than past US presidents.

"Mark Lincoln.....not his fault his advisors just suck." - Lynn First, he picked his advisors. This is not a single failure Lynn, it is an example of a pervasive pattern. "Our State Dept. has turned into a big joke." - Lynn The last President to treat the State Department as anything but a joke was Eisenhower. "Alienating the very people we have to work with on the issues at hand." - Lynn Obama's problem is that he is unwilling to deal strongly with anyone. "Making demands on a Jewish State while bowing to the Saudi King." - Lynn Obama, unlike the last President and his family, is not a business partner with rich Saudis and members of the House of Saud. "Just a myriad of steps that shouldn`t have happened." - Lynn Lynn, I believer firmly that Israel would benefit immensely from peace with the world. Sun Tzu observed there is no record of any nation benefiting from prolonged warfare - and he wrote that thousands of years ago. Is Judea and Samaria worth the price of endless wa

I hope the Palestinians take this lesson well. There is no world that will save them. There is no Obama who will help them. They have achieved nothing by trying to stop terrorism or attacks on Israel. The Palestinians will just have to accept the fact that there is no hope and get on with what ever life Israel allows them. If they act like proud and oppressed people with no hope aside from fighting back, it could result in thousands of futile deaths.

"I think the time has come for every single person in Israel to try and figure out and prepare fot the things awaiting us as every thing around fails and colapses." - a poor israeli The day of judgement is not upon us. It is long past. The Israeli left has lost all influence, and the right rules because it will stop at nothing. This is the same situation as here in America. The day of judgement came when liberals in both nations decided not to ruffle anyone's feathers by actually fighting back against the right. "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." - Edmund Burke Evil will ALWAYS triumph when decent people allow it to win without a fight. Obama was given one last chance, and he decided not to fight against evil or for anything.

To describe the negotiations in a manner that suggests both sides are equal is doing nothing more than normalising occupation.

"Your failed the Palestinians Mr. Obama, shame!!!" - Moise Moses, Obama has not only failed the Palestinians, the Israelis, and Americans, he has failed himself.

Barak Obama lacks the gumption to actually accomplish anything.

"Maybe your expectations towards Israel are even higher than those of Obama," - Daniel Daniel, I am an old man. The first international crisis which I took immense interest in was the 'Suez Crisis' of 1956. I became a 'fan' of Israel at that time, even though President Eisenhower - for whom I have great respect and liking - thwarted the efforts of Britain, France and Israel to bring colonial control back to the Suez canal. I supported Israel in the Six Day War, though as I have later learned it was unwanted by both sides, an accidental war, which would not have happened had not the Soviet Union meddled in the region and America withheld critical information from Israel. Daniel, had the Arab League, the United States - the whole WORLD - told Israel in May 1967 that all it had to do to have peaceful relations with them all was agree to it's 1967 borders it would have leapt at the chance. I guess I do have high expectations of Israel. I remember when it wanted peace and security.

It was Obama who decided to make this issue a priority and it was Obama who encouraged the Arabs to raise preconditions against the possibility of negotiating with Israel. His policy has failed so he is now trying to evade responsibility. Everything that Clinton and McCain said about him during the election campaign has turned out to be true: he is inexperienced in foreign affairs and so far has not shown much evidence of being able to learn from those who are more experienced than him. It is time for Congress to take control of foreign policy. Presidential incompetence is not acceptable. Full attention needs to be paid to dealing with the Iranian nuclear threat as an urgent priority. This can best be done by giving full support to the freedom movement in Iran while keeping all options open for self-defence against the Dictatorship.

Is there a score card keeping track of US presidents repeating the same rhettoric "its BOTH their fault"! Do Israeli propagandists rejoice some where when their talking points are used over and over again? The Palestinians don't stand a chance and by the past and present examples never did!..... just how much more must they "give" or have "taken" and at the same time blamed just the same....PEACE NEVER?

you have to ask yourselves, why did he rush in like he did? I'll tell you why. He did so because he naively believed that he could do anything, persuade anyone. He was drunk with power and illusions of grandeur. Mostly, he got bad advice from people like khalidi, said, brzezhinski, power, freeman, carter, wright rahm, etc...they pushed him into believing that israel needed to be pushed harder than they needed to push the pals... demanding a complete settlement halt was absolutely ruinous. When you know, as everyone on both sides knows that any final deal WILL have land swaps with certain settlement blocks kept, then for sure a complete halt and the no natural growth edict was a deal killer and quite idiotic as the opening position. Obama is proving to be quite the fool.

has been one series of apologies after another, after another, after another. What this indicates is an administration that has virtually no fixed focus on its sense of direction and one that is divorced from the pragmatics when attempting to force one agenda after another down the throats of either Americans or Israelis. The Obama/Democratic defeat in Massachusetts has reaffirmed my faith in Jeffersonian democracy. The people did not just voice their outrage. They SCREAMED, finally.

Mr Abbas is a good man, and a good leader and should be respected by Christians, Jews and Muslims. When Mr. Obama or Mr. Netanyahu tell their military force to stop shooting, they stop shooting. Sadly, the good man Mr. Abbas has yet to achive that degree of control. The rest of the Muslim world should help him restrain the "militants" instead of wrecking the Peace Talks as they have so often in the past.

1. Apoligizing for US greatness & power. 2. Eliminating religious discrimination by ordering closure at Gitmo and not profiling at airports. 3. Reducing unemployment from 8% to over 10%. 4. Reducing US federal deficit by spending more. 5. Popularizing & passing US health care reform. 6. Copenhagen - using presidential prestige to bring Olympics to Chicago. 7. Copenhagen - using presidential prestige to getting China/Russia/India etc. to agree to global warming pact. 8. Using presidential prestige for Mideast peace 9. Using diplomacy to halt Iran's nuclear drive. Oh...and let us not forget receiving and "accepting" Nobel prize while sending 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan. Mommy, when I grow up I want to be a successful President like BHO!

your comment make me laugh so hard Israel never made a gesture for peace! Even now they start to make more demand like keeping their soldiers in the border with jordan once Palestinian has is own state!! Israel make me sick!

For far too long Americans, Israelis and Gazans have allowed their "leaders" to tail end the polls, taking the most reactionary positions possible to get elected--the end results: bad politicians keep getting reelected and the war and terrorism to continue with all of the above making mucho warbucks in the process. Now is the time to act. We have a new US Administration and Netanyahu and the Gazan leadership are willing to at least shake hands. Start talking now. 1. Paths to citizenship for Arabs. 2. Legitimacy of the Israelite government. 3. US and Britain to play the HONEST brokers. If we all believe in the God of Abraham, let's pray to Him together!

So is the cost. Stop wasting my tax money on this lost cause.

his advisors just suck. Our State Dept. has turned into a big joke. Alienating the very people we have to work with on the issues at hand. Making demands on a Jewish State while bowing to the Saudi King. Just a myriad of steps that shouldn't have happened.

you have to ask yourselves, why did he rush in like he did? I'll tell you why. He did so because he naively believed that he could do anything, persuade anyone. He was drunk with power and illusions of grandeur. Mostly, he got bad advice from people like khalidi, said, brzezhinski, power, freeman, carter, wright rahm, etc...they pushed him into believing that israel needed to be pushed harder than they needed to push the pals... demanding a complete settlement halt was absolutely ruinous. When you know, as everyone on both sides knows that any final deal WILL have land swaps with certain settlement blocks kept, then for sure a complete halt and the no natural growth edict was a deal killer and quite idiotic as the opening position. Obama is proving to be quite the fool.

Obama Obama OOOOO Bama ! What have you done , son ? You've upset everyone now. In spite of all the flattering to the Arab/Moslem world, they're not happy. They want you to hand over the White House keys...and all. The Israelis are not happy, they made plenty of gestures and to no avail. What does all that tell you ? Will you admit your policy in the M.E. was naive, and with respect Mr. President, ignorant of full facts. And since you love to repeat the word respect, I'll do the same. I respect you for one thing today, you seem to admit you might have gone too far. So, with respect Mr.President, will you change or at least re-adjust your policy. And you can blame it on Hilary, Emmanuel and David on the way, I dont' mind. Good luck next time. We all need it, especially Israelis and Palestinians.

Unfortunately the 'peace process' is more of a goal then peace. The Palestinian vision of what peace would look like leave no place for Israel to continue to exist or that at least is the perception of the majority of thinking Israelis. To exclude the ideologues for whom no fact will move from their already set opinions. I'm not sure that Netanyahu's vision is. I suspect that he doesn't have much hope in the process which explains why he is not more forthcoming. Then again, nothing seems to be enough for Abbas. Olmert offered more and it wasn't enough. Netanyahu came into office because Olmert's concessions scared the Israeli electorate.

How easily Obama shrugs off the mess he made.He still doesn't get it.Obama's blundering try at throwing his weight about and ordering Israel around just gave Abbas and the PA the false hope that if they stayed intransigent Obama would deliver up all of their demands of Israel on a plate.That's not going to happen,but Abbas keeps on parroting out the demand for a settlement freeze before resuming negotiation. Abbas is boxed into an unreasonable position that he cannot get out from and Obama has killed the peace process stone dead. THREE CHEERS FOR ISRAEL!!!

Three more years of Mitchell and Hillary. Bibi make a bold move; become a statesman.

for every single person in Israel to try and figure out and prepare fot the things awaiting us as every thing around fails and colapses. it is almost as saying: prepare yourself as our "yom hadin" is behind the door (And you know thanks to whom)

Obama lacks the courage to tackle Netanyahu head on.

James have you ever been to the US? US Blacks have made tremendous advancements. One of them is our president. Swiss however, are amongst the most racist in the world. Minarets are not banned in Israel.

Spend it elsewhere. The two state solution is just supporting denial of whats coming anyway. Both sides harbor so much hatred and then blame it on the U.S. for their problem. We should cut the strings and offer a more truthful analysis to both sides. It will eventually come to a fight for full equality under Israel law for Arab citizens at least on the West Bank-something similar to what happened in South Africa. We need to be debating this scenario when/how/safety concerns and not supporting the denial further.

Yes you are right that Obama has done nothing...because Israel will do nothing. Israel wants all of Palestine...period. I suppose you will be happy only when the neo-cons get back into power, help Israel attack Iran (with American troops), maintain three wars and truly bankrupt itself with Israel watching gleefully from the sidelines.(Oh, I forgot, Israel will continue to set US foreign policy via AIPAC.) Do you have dual citizenship, or do you just love Israel better than your country of residence? You can't have it two ways forever.

unbelievable: is this a reflection of all of President Obama's campaign promises? surely he wasnt so naive to think that this would have been a walk in the park. He and his advisers had 100 years of intractable conflict to look at. Did he think his good looks would have changed all that (or for that matter pandering to the Arab world?) what a sucker!!

This one will go all the way up to the middle of the top shelf to join its sisters plans.

Obama: Didn't close down G'tmo as promised Didn't withdraw from Iraq as promised Didn't discuss health care on C-span as promised Didn't manage bipartisanship as promised Didn't stop unemployment as promised Didn't get cap and trade as promised Didn't get Iran opening its fist as declared Netanyahu, the conservative: Adopted loud and clear the 2-state solution Reduced road blocks to a fraction of their original number Is the first PM to declare a 10 month settlement moratorium. Abbas: ????? Who's not bold enough?

Maybe your expectations towards Israel are even higher than those of Obama, in parallel with a total lack of critical sense towards the other party, the Palestinians. How else to explain the disappointment that shines from your postings. But Israel lives in reality, not in the ideal world you love to build. Obama has eventually noticed it.

I have a suggestion to Mr. Obama. Why doesn't the USA asks both sides to implement the Law, International Law, and any part whom doesn't would receive sanctions from USA. What do u think? Is Israel ready to respect and implement 4th geneva convention? the hague convention? ICJ rules? International Law, Human rights law??? If the Palestinians violate this law also, then they receive sanctions too. FAIR ENOUGH... END OCCUPATION, END OCCUPATION, END OCCUPATION this is the simple solution. People want to live in freedom and justice. they have the right to struggle. Today, they are doing in PEACEFULLY; NON-VIOLENT RESISTANCE, they are being shot, killed, put in prison. Why dont you move Mr. Obama?? Didnt you ask palestinians to end "terror" and use non-violent methods like african americans??

The two-state solution was flawed. The partition of Palestine by the UN was a huge error which has led to bloodshed. Reverting back to a unified land, call it whatever you like, Israel/Palestine/Pisrael/, is what is correct. One man, one vote, equality for all. No apartheid, Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. A state for all its citizens. People can build and live where ever they find comfort. No discrimination, even the Falasha Mura is welcome. Hooray! Salaam/Shalom

... 99% of failure due to right-wing Israeli policy... and, alas, inadquacy of Obama clout...

You must be joking. I suppose Netanyahu accepting a two state solution isn't a gesture? I suppose freezing construction in the West Bank, something that has NEVER been done before, isn't a gesture? Every time Israel make's a gesture, as opposed to acknowledging it, you demand MORE. Well the Israeli gesture well is now dry. Its time for the Palestinians to make a gesture, and its time you start to publicly acknowledge the gestures Israel has made. No wonder you're losing your mandate to govern in the US.

He should point his finger to the Israelis who are the source of the problem all together. He was too weak to say the truth about who is the occupier and who is the occupied. He got the Nobel Prize for doing nothing because he is the preacher type, who unfortunately raised expectations in advance to the highest levels worldwide, not only in the ME. The US blacks and the white poors and now the Haitians, who he is about to occupy, are some of those who irred dearly.

President Bawaaak Obama has admitted defeat. The right may rejoice. The "peace scare of 2009" is over. "If the U.S. had anticipated that earlier, Obama says he might not have raised his expectations so high." - AP It was all over last winter when Obama capitulated to Netanyahu. He was just real slow to get the picture that 'no way' meant 'NO!"

Are you kidding me? Israel has been the only side making any gestures in the last few months. Mostly through prodding by the US. The Fakestinians have made 0 gestures, but a ton of demands, emboldened by Obama's tongue wagging....why should they make any gestures if the Obama administration is turning the screws only to Israel? Shut up, Obama...stop trying to split the difference here and please everyone and place the blame where it belongs. On the 60 year history of Arab intransigence.