Advisers: Obama must address Israel-Palestinian conflict at once
Former national security advisers, to Ford, Carter and Bush say resolving Palestinian issue would liberate Arab governments to support US leadership in dealing with regional problems ''as they did before the Iraq invasion'. Add: Solution would dissipate much Hizbullah and Hamas' appeal
WASHINGTON - Two former US national security advisers have called on President-elect Barack Obama to pay immediate attention to the Israeli-Palestinian dispute, as this would "cement the goodwill" that his election engendered.
In an op-ed published by the Washington Post on Friday, Brent Scowcroft, former adviser to Presidents Gerald Ford and George W. Bush, and Zbigniew Brzezinski, former adviser to President Jimmy Carter said, "Not everyone in the Middle East views the Palestinian issue as the greatest regional challenge, but the deep sense of injustice it stimulates is genuine and pervasive.
"To let attention lapse would reinforce the feelings of injustice and neglect in the region. That could spur another eruption of violence between the warring parties or in places such as Lebanon or Gaza, reversing what progress has been made and sending the parties back to square one," they said.
"Lurking in the background is the possibility that the quest for a two-state solution may be abandoned by the Palestinians, the Israelis, or both - with unfortunate consequences for all."
Obama has reportedly been consulting with both advisers, and NBC reported that the president-elect had met with Scowcroft two days ago to discuss ways to assemble the new National Security Council staff.
'Something more might be needed'
Scowcroft and Brzezinski went on to write that resolving the Palestinian issue would have a positive impact on the region and would liberate Arab governments to support US leadership in dealing with regional problems, "as they did before the Iraq invasion".
According to the former national security advisers, Obama will have to declare publicly what the US believes to be the basic parameters of a "fair and enduring peace" ought to be: 1967 borders, with minor, reciprocal and agreed-upon modifications; compensation in lieu of the right of return for Palestinian refugees; Jerusalem as real home to two capitals; and a non-militarized Palestinian state.
They further contended that a solution to the conflict "would dissipate much of the appeal of Hizbullah and Hamas, dependent as it is on the Palestinians' plight," and would also "change the region's psychological climate, putting Iran back on the defensive and putting a stop to its swagger.
"The elections in Israel scheduled for February are certainly a complicating factor, as is the deep split among Palestinians between Fatah and Hamas. But if the peace process begins to gain momentum, it is difficult to imagine that Hamas will want to be left out, and that same momentum would provide the Israeli people a unique chance to register their views on the future of their country," Scowcroft and Brzezinski wrote.
The American advisers continued to say that "something more might be needed to deal with Israeli security concerns about turning over territory to a Palestinian government incapable of securing Israel against terrorist activity. That could be dealt with by deploying an international peacekeeping force, such as one from NATO, which could not only replace Israeli security but train Palestinian troops to become effective."
