Gen. Jim Jones
Photo: AP
Obama advisor: 2-state solution can mitigate Iran threat
Israel should work to advance the peace process with the Palestinians if it is worried about Iran, says National Security Advisor Jim Jones in interview with ABC
The Iranian threat can be reduced by the promotion of the two-state solution, US National Security Advisor James Jones said in an interview broadcast by ABC on Sunday.
Jones, a retired general, emphasized that the Iranian nuclear program was a "top strategic issue" on the American agenda and that they intended to discuss it with the Israeli delegation, headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, scheduled to arrive in Washington for a series of meetings on May 18.
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Jones added that Europe and the Arab world had high expectations of the United States and its involvement in the Middle East, requiring American leadership and involvement at all levels of government in order to encourage the gradual advancement of a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
He then tied the two issues together, asserting that there are many ways of reducing the Iranian threat, one of which is to get closer to a two-state solution.
Jones' views echoed those voiced by US Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel at the recent AIPAC conference. Emanuel said that the ability to confront Iran depended on the ability to make progress on the Palestinian front. Solving the conflict, he said, would make it more possible to handle the threat posed by Iran.
Jones refused to discuss reports that the Obama administration communicated to European leaders that it intends to be more forceful with Israel than George W. Bush's administration had been.
Nonetheless, Jones did suggest that Obama's government intended to take a more hands-on approach, saying it would be fully involved in the process.
Later in the same segment Obama's rival for the presidency in 2008, Senator John McCain, expressed doubts as to the efficacy of placing this kind of pressure on Israel, but praised the Obama administration for its involvement in the region.
