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Hillarysworld -> International -> U.S. hope dims for high-level Israeli-Palestinian talks over state (WaPo 11/04/09)
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TOPIC: U.S. hope dims for high-level Israeli-Palestinian talks over state (WaPo 11/04/09)
Jen the Michigander


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U.S. hope dims for high-level Israeli-Palestinian talks over state (WaPo 11/04/09)
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/03/AR2009110302516.html?wprss=rss_world

The Obama administration has concluded that an early resumption of high-level negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians over a Palestinian state is unlikely in the near future -- an acknowledgment that it has fallen short, for now, on one of its major initial foreign policy goals.

While still pressing for face-to-face talks between Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli President Binyamin Netanyahu, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has begun to urge Arab states to encourage Palestinian participation in lower-level talks with Israel to avoid a vacuum.

"We recognize that things have stalled," Clinton spokesman P.J. Crowley said. "We're looking at a variety of ways that increase interaction between the parties in some form." He described the proposals as "baby steps" that would eventually "create a momentum of their own, and the effort can pick up steam."

"If there's a vacuum," he said, "there are lots of spoilers willing to take advantage. . . . We've too often in the past seen events spiral into violence."

Clinton flew to Cairo on Tuesday night from an international conference in Morocco, where Arab foreign ministers had listened skeptically to her reasons for describing the Israeli offer -- to allow unlimited construction in East Jerusalem and the completion of up to 3,000 housing units, while exercising "restraint" in the rest of the West Bank -- as "unprecedented" and worthy of discussion.

The Arabs offered little response to the lower-level engagement option Clinton outlined as a way out of the current impasse. Although she had been scheduled to return to Washington on Tuesday, following a week-long trip that began in Pakistan, she quickly arranged to travel to Cairo for talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, whom Crowley described as "one of the key figures" in the peace process.

Even as a senior administration official acknowledged that officials are "looking at adding additional modes" below the top level for talks on "final status" and other issues, he said that they "have not stopped trying" to persuade Abbas to participate and that Clinton will try to enlist Mubarak in that effort. U.S. special envoy George J. Mitchell made a similar appeal Monday to Jordanian King Abdullah II in Amman, and met there with Abbas before flying to Egypt to compare notes with Clinton.

In her conference remarks Tuesday morning, Clinton referred to Obama's well-received speech to the Islamic world in Cairo last summer, saying that the administration is "determined and persistent in pursuit" of a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians. But she appeared to chastise the Arabs for criticizing her support of the Israeli proposal. "All parties should be careful about what we say," she said, warning that "recriminations . . . [were] understandable, but we have to work together toward a shared goal."

Slowing her voice and deepening her tone, Clinton said there is a choice to be made between living in the past or building a future for the Palestinians. "I would just ask you to think about how we can each demonstrate the commitment necessary to go forward," she said.

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freespirit


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I think it's reasonable and realistic to expect this process to be slow. Unfortunately, some in the media have such a severe case of CDS that they would rather use the problems and setbacks encountered in resolving this centuries old conflict as an excuse to attack HRC, than to actually see some success in this effort. These small, petty, unpatriotic bloggers and media hacks will continue to dissect every word and action, spinning their heads off in an attempt to take a shot at Hillary. It will be less important to them to actually see real progress in resolving conflict than to find an excuse to vent their disapproval of Hillary. Of course, in order to avoid appearing as silly and small as they really are - they will couch their remarks in intelligent sounding words and well constructed sentences. They may even bring in a "scholar" or two to support their biased views of Hillary's handling of this issue. But, their goal will not be to bring the public news. It will be to use their blogs and their news shows as a platform from which to launch their barbs at Hillary. The will be part of the problem - not the solution.

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Jen the Michigander


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True. As much as I admire and respect Hillary, I sure don't expect her to waltz into Israel or the Palestinian territories, meet with their leaders for a few hours, and then come out of there with an agreement of any kind, much less one that both sides will actually adhere to for more than six months. It just's not gonna happen, no matter who is facilitating the peace process.

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freespirit


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Jen the Michigander wrote:

True. As much as I admire and respect Hillary, I sure don't expect her to waltz into Israel or the Palestinian territories, meet with their leaders for a few hours, and then come out of there with an agreement of any kind, much less one that both sides will actually adhere to for more than six months. It just's not gonna happen, no matter who is facilitating the peace process.



Stamp.  No way is it going to happen - no matter who is negotiating.



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It was we, the people; not we, the white male citizens; nor yet we, the male citizens; but we, the whole people, who formed the Union.... Men, their rights and nothing more; women, their rights and nothing less.  ~Susan B. Anthony
Jen the Michigander


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She'll keep trying, bless her heart. But I won't blame her if it doesn't happen.

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