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April 2010
"My Fellow Americans"Dr Samir Rihani
I asked myself the other day: what would I do about the Mideast if I were Obama? More to the point, what could I do to arrest my steep fall in popularity? I had come to the Presidency on a wave of national and international acclaim and hope. Expectations were sky high but then it was so easy to foster a feeling of optimism and sanity after the Bush years. Over a year in power, however, reality had kicked in and my image had suffered a massive dent. Healthcare reforms foundered and had to be doctored down to make it acceptable to the Democrats. The Republican Party experienced what must have been an unexpected revival so soon in the election cycle. Hopes for new initiatives on a possible Mideast peace deal were dealt a not unexpected deathly blow following Joe Biden's ill fated foray. The Israelis decided that total humiliation of the VP was necessary to injure the President permanently. One could see what Obama's thoughts have been since entering the Whitehouse: 'I must not make any mistakes in my first year'. All presidents want another term. However, as things stand and based on his weak and vacillating performance Obama stands little chance of being granted another term by his party or the electorate. He came to power to restore the US self-image at home and reputation abroad and ended up doing neither. Certainly, the view in the Arab world is obvious: he is powerless to do anything to offer the Palestinians the justice they seek. The grovelling words uttered by Biden on his visit to Israel, Arabs concluded for the umpteenth time, were the words of, at most, a junior partner to his masters. So gain, what would I do if I were Obama: cave in and hope to complete my term with minimum ignominy or undertake the sort of risk management that all firms perform and assert myself by taking calculated risks that might restore my reputation? Assuming he decides to follow the latter course (and that is a huge assumption I readily concede) I give below an address he might consider delivering. "My fellow Americans. Israel has been and is in our minds and our hearts. I as President and Commander in Chief will have no hesitation in committing US forces to make certain that Israelis can live securely and happily within Israel's internationally recognised borders. This bond between Israel and the USA is unshakeable and unchangeable. However, friends are there to tell you truths that your enemies might not care to point out. The constant state of conflict that has existed in the Mideast since 1948 has not helped Israelis to live happily or securely in their own homeland. The perprtual state of war readiness has diverted resources that could have been better used for other more productive purposes. Israel is now a divided nation between those who want permanent peace with its neighbours and with the Palestinians, and those who wish to pursue other aims based on strongly held historic and religious beliefs. More to the point, Israel's reputation is suffering injuious setbacks that are too obvious and too painful to recount here. Israel's positive reputation that it enjoyed for decades is being steadily corroded. Looked at from the US point of view, the persistent conflict between Israelis and Palestinians is generating enormous local and regional problems of security that so far we have managed to address as problems of terrorism and or extremism without delving into the root causes of these phenomena. This stance is becoming unsustainable. There simply is too much knowledge out there through the media and the Internet for us to maintain that convention. Most of the conflicts in which many American lives have been lost in recent years have links to the Israeli/ Palestinian conflict. There is of course the question of Palestinian rights. These rights were recognised at an early stage when the idea of a Jewish home was originally mooted. Moreover, the US is bound by principles set by President Woodrow Wilson in his Fourteen Points speech to a joint session of Congress in January 1918. It is inconsistent for the US to argue globally for self-determination for all nations without recognising the same rights for the Palestinians. The US is not able to surrender this overarching policy for fear that it might offend our friends in Israel. Basically, the sufferings of the Palestinians are all too obvious and could not be ignored for much longer on humanitarian grounds let alone the damage this continues to cause to US regional and global interests. With the above in mind I have decided that further aid payments and military cooperation between the USA and Israel will be linked as of now to progress in negotiations between the Palestinians and Israel on the basis of a two-state solution within the borders that existed in 1967 or a one-state solution that gives equal rights for Jews and Palestinians. The final choice of solution is entirely up to the two parties. If negotiations fail within twelve months then the US will recognise a Palestinian state within the borders described above if such a state is proclaimed unilaterally by the Palestinians. In reaching these decisions I have considered the interests of the USA, Israel and the Palestinians. Clearly, individuals and groups in each case might be disappointed but sooner or later a President of the USA will have to take decisive action on this thorny topic and I decided this might as well be myself. I have been warned that there might be dire consequences; including harm to my popularity not to mention threats for my own safety, but as history since 1948 shows all other possible alternatives have been explored and failed. The options before me were stark: compromise US cherished principles of fairness, allow militants on both sides to fight it out, let matters drift including committing more of our forces and national resources to fight wars here and there, or walk away from the whole matter. For readily obvious reasons, no president could entertain any of these options. Interests groups and sections of the media might not approve of my decisions: all I ask is that they should come forward with more constructive ideas that meet the vital needs of the USA, Israel, and the Palestinians. God bless you all"
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