The U.S. Road to Nowhere in the Middle East

http://mebriefing.com/?p=679
April 28 2014

It is obvious that U.S. policy in the Middle East is in dire need of an overhaul. In London and New York, major newspapers are publishing obituaries not only for Barack Obama’s Middle East policy, but even for the non-performing “Asia pivot.”   In mere two days last week, Israel pulled out of the nine-month old peace talks, and in Asia, Obama was promising Japan a “Trans-Pacific Partnership” that his Congress took off the “fast track.”  In other words, no agreement on the horizon.

The announcement of a deal between Fatah and Hamas, genuine or tactical, expressed what everyone already knew: the idea of a process for the sake of a process would lead nowhere, and the context defined by the U.S.-directed talks was getting the Palestinians—in their weakest position ever—a deal that would be impossible to sign.  The U.S. is either unwilling or unable to pressure Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to take this eternal process somewhere other than the usual dead end alley.