What We've Been Expecting: Scowcroft & Brzezinski

Excerpts and, of course, my comments in bracketed italics:

Middle East Priorities For Jan. 21


...When Obama takes office in two months, he will find a number of difficult foreign policy issues competing for his attention, each with strong advocates among his advisers. We believe that the Arab-Israeli peace process is one issue that requires priority attention.

In perhaps no other region was the election of Obama more favorably received than the Middle East. [oh, really?]

Immediate attention to the Israeli-Palestinian dispute would help cement the goodwill that Obama's election engendered. Not everyone in the Middle East views the Palestinian issue as the greatest regional challenge, but the deep sense of injustice it stimulates is genuine and pervasive. [but that 'sense of injustice' is wrong and the more these writers promote that mendasciousness and foist it on to Obama, the more Israel and the U.S., ultimately, are in deep trouble]

...to let attention lapse would reinforce the feelings of injustice and neglect in the region. That could spur another eruption of violence between the warring parties [they don't count the near-daily Qassmas and tunnel-digging as violence? only when there is war, that is, when Israel defends itself, is it violence that must be halted?]...Lurking in the background is the possibility that the quest for a two-state solution may be abandoned by the Palestinians, the Israelis, or both -- with unfortunate consequences for all. [no, actually just for the Pals. who, ocne again, will lose another opportunity]

Resolution of the Palestinian issue would have a positive impact on the region. It would liberate Arab governments to support U.S. leadership in dealing with regional problems, as they did before the Iraq invasion. [ah, so it's all really US interests at heart?] It would dissipate much of the appeal of Hezbollah and Hamas, dependent as it is on the Palestinians' plight. [that's BS] It would change the region's psychological climate, putting Iran back on the defensive and putting a stop to its swagger. [more BS. Iran is motivated not psychologically but theologically]

...A key element in any new initiative would be for the U.S. president to declare publicly what, in the view of this country, the basic parameters of a fair and enduring peace ought to be. These should contain four principal elements: 1967 borders, with minor, reciprocal and agreed-upon modifications; compensation in lieu of the right of return for Palestinian refugees; Jerusalem as real home to two capitals; and a nonmilitarized Palestinian state. [non-militarized? since when? that's a Pal. non-starter? how else except in the 17 different security forces now existing an the Pals. get jobs?]

Something more might be needed to deal with Israeli security concerns about turning over territory to a Palestinian government incapable of securing Israel against terrorist activity. [now, that's an understaement] That could be dealt with by deploying an international peacekeeping force, such as one from NATO, which could not only replace Israeli security but train Palestinian troops to become effective. [these guys really are detached from reality or even possibility]

...if the peace process begins to gain momentum, it is difficult to imagine that Hamas will want to be left out, and that same momentum would provide the Israeli people a unique chance to register their views on the future of their country. [Hamas doesn't want to be left out; they want to dominate and rule! and are these two suggesting a slight interference in our elections, like when Clinton flew over before the 1996 elections to favor Peres?]

...initiative should then be followed -- not preceded -- by the appointment of a high-level dignitary to pursue the process on the president's behalf... [so, someone is looking for a job?]


This is not a sensible grasp of the true situation. It is pressuring Israel to be maneuvered into a situation unhelpful to its existence while completely misrepresenting the Arab world vis-a-vis Israel and the esswebce of the Pal. onslaught on Zionism, the idea of a Jewish state and, ultimately, Jews.


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P.S.

Brent Scowcroft was national security adviser to Presidents Gerald Ford and George H.W. Bush. He is president of the Forum for International Policy and the Scowcroft Group. Zbigniew Brzezinski was national security adviser to President Jimmy Carter. He is trustee and counselor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. The two are authors of "America and The World: Conversations on the Future of American Foreign Policy."