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Hillarysworld -> All things Hillary -> Mideast Talks To Test Clinton’s Negotiating Skills (NPR 8/31/10)
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TOPIC: Mideast Talks To Test Clinton’s Negotiating Skills (NPR 8/31/10)
Jen the Michigander


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Mideast Talks To Test Clinton’s Negotiating Skills (NPR 8/31/10)
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http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129482274

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has been consulting her predecessors and past U.S. Middle East negotiators as she prepares to host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday.

By formally launching the talks at the State Department, Clinton is signaling that she wants the two sides to get back to business on the core issues dividing them, and that she will personally play an active role, said one of her closest aides, who asked not to be named.

Aaron David Miller, a public policy scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars says, “You have to be tough, if not devious.”

Miller says that while George Mitchell, the U.S. Middle East special envoy, will have a role to play going forward, Clinton has to “own” this issue. “If she were looking for a way to get into the Secretary of State Hall of Fame, this would be the issue, because it plays to her strength and it’s an issue that the president cares a great deal about,” he said. “But, in the end, for her that means one thing more than anything — getting into the middle of the mix.”

One of Clinton’s aides, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, says she has been playing an active, behind-the-scenes role in persuading Netanyahu and Abbas to get back to direct negotiations, and she has gained some useful, hands-on experience in her nearly two years as secretary of state. When she persuaded rivals Turkey and Armenia to sign protocols to normalize relations last year, “the thing she did effectively was start by listening,” her aide said, adding that Clinton’s legal training was also useful.

She also knows “the whole cast of characters” in the Middle East through her years as first lady, senator and now secretary of state. Clinton has no illusions about the difficulties ahead, as she pointed out when she announced the talks.

“Without a doubt, we will hit more obstacles. The enemies of peace will keep trying to defeat us and to derail these talks,” Clinton said. “But I ask the parties to persevere.”

There are no trips on the schedule yet, but Clinton is likely to spend more time in the region, in part to persuade the Palestinian and Israeli publics that they should support the talks. Her aide says this is not the start of shuttle diplomacy. Rather, the plan is to get Netanyahu and Abbas into a “regular rhythm” of meetings.

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freespirit


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It was mentioned last week in an article I saw (can't remember where) that BO and his WH insiders were gearing up to lay the blame for the expected failure of peace efforts on Hillary. Speculation was that they saw the need to "take her out" so to speak. It worries me, a little, but there's no doubt that regardless of how the peace efforts go, Hillary can handle herself with O and the Obamanuts. She will have absolutely no problem with that.

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Jen the Michigander


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Given the animosity between the Israelis and the Palestinians, I don't think anyone will blame Hillary if they can't reach an agreement. Over the years, many others have tried and failed to bring peace to that region. There's only so much that a third party can do, even if that third party is headed by someone as brilliant as Hillary.

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