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|  | President Obama Photo: AP
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Welcome to the Middle East
President Obama needs to force peace upon region using US soldiers
Oron Greenbaum
President Barack Obama traveled to the Middle East more than once in his life, yet it is possible that only recently, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s kind assistance, he started to understand the conflict’s atmosphere.
In his recent policy speech, Netanyahu exposed our own face. Often we tend to forget that we are part of the conflict and express our “objective” views. However, we are not objective and neither are our PM, the ministers, elected officials, and the diverse media world here.
Netanyahu, who is a media mastermind, knows this well. He knows that mentioning Gilad Shalit touches every Jewish heart. He knows that heritage stories, Shoah, Ahmadinejad hatred, and a promising economic future affect the Jewish heart just the way the Shalit story does: The heart softens, opens up, and becomes captivated.
This captivation affected all the commentators who spoke after the speech. It’s hard to blame them. They spoke from their Jewish heart. They told us about a Netanyahu shift. Now, the Israeli people are waiting for a similar gesture from the other side.
Yet then came the Palestinian reactions: Harsh and crude; detached from reality in our view. Netanyahu will not find a Palestinian dialogue partner even in 1,000 years, summed up Dr. Saeb Erekat, no considered a radical politician.
In his speech, Netanyahu not only revealed that there is nobody to talk to, he also revealed that there is nothing to discuss. The willingness to embark on immediate negotiations without pre-conditions, while presenting four red lines (that the Jewish heart of course warmly embraces,) will not lead to talks. The Palestinian willingness to get everything before they give something will lead us to the same cul-de-sac. These approaches, displayed by failed leaderships that lack courage on both sides, won’t lead to negotiations, but rather, to many injuries.
The expression “let them bleed” has been attributed to the early stages of George W. Bush’s term in office. He was preoccupied with other foreign affairs, such as the preparations for the second Iraq War. In the wake of the failed attempts by the Clinton administration, Bush preferred to “let the Israeli-Palestinian conflict bleed.” It didn’t help.
Therefore, Mr. President, if you want peace here, you need to force it. You need to come up with a plan and with 30,000 soldiers, who will constitute a buffer between the two peoples for several years. Until the people understand that it is possible to co-exist, and until both of them have something to lose when this togetherness is violated.
If this sounds exaggerated, Mr. President, please allow me to question the American desire for peace in our region. After all, when it comes to wars you are willing to deploy hundreds of thousands of soldiers here. What are 30,000 soldiers in order to bring peace?
Should regional leaders reject the arrival of your soldiers here, you need to explain to them that they have two options. First, you can tell them about your plans for a flourishing Middle East. Next, you can tell them that this year you held the first Passover Seder at the White House, where you learned about the 10 plagues of Egypt. The region has already seen enough blood, to no avail. The next plague was frogs. Explain to the leaders that the pipelines used to pour dollars and Euros to the region may end up transfering frogs only…money talks, Mr. President. Welcome to the Middle East.
Oron Greenbaum, a businessman, is a former financial journalist
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