Petraeus throws support to Mitchell peace efforts
Gen. David Petraeus weighed in on the U.S.-Israel dispute today, telling Senators that he “absolutely” backs the efforts of U.S. Middle East peace envoy George Mitchell to re-launch Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, and that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict challenges the ability of the United States to advance its interests in the region.
“I keep a very close eye on what goes on” on the Israeli-Palestinian issue, though it’s not officially part of Centcom’s area of responsibility, Petraeus told the Senate Armed Services Committee Tuesday “because of its impact on that part of Centcom that is the Arab world. And in fact, we have urged that this is a critical component.
“In fact, [Central Command] staff members at various times have discussed asking for the Palestinian territories to be added to” Centcom’s turf, Petraeus said...
“Isn’t the issue not the issue of settlements as much as it is the existence of the state of Israel,” McCain said in the long run up to his question. “Its neighbors with some exceptions have dedicated themselves to the extermination of Israel …. So maybe you could put it all into the larger context of what needs to be done to reduce tensions on the U.S.’s closest ally and friend in many respects. And what needs to be done to defuse” tensions.
...In his prepared testimony, Petraeus listed the Israeli-Arab conflict as the first “cross cutting challenge to security and stability” in the Centcom area of responsibility [AOR]. “The enduring hostilities between Israel and some of its neighbors present distinct challenges to our ability to advance our interests in the AOR,” he wrote. “The conflict foments anti-American sentiment, due to a perception of U.S. favoritism for Israel. Arab anger over the Palestinian question limits the strength and depth of U.S. partnerships with governments and peoples in the AOR and weakens the legitimacy of moderate regimes in the Arab world.”
“Meanwhile, al-Qaeda and other militant groups exploit that anger to mobilize support,” his testimony continued. “The conflict also gives Iran influence in the Arab world through its clients, Lebanese Hizballah and Hamas.”
In the section on Iran, Petraeus also wrote that: “A credible U.S. effort on Arab-Israeli issues that provides regional governments and populations a way to achieve a comprehensive settlement of the disputes would undercut Iran’s policy of militant ‘resistance,’ which the Iranian regime and insurgent groups have been free to exploit.”
“Additionally, progress on the Israel-Syria peace track could disrupt Iran’s lines of support to Hamas and Hizballah,” he wrote.
At the hearing today, Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) asked Petraeus if he was making contingency plans for a military conflict with Iran...
“I want to reinforce the fact that previously you said in exercise of your responsibility at Centcom, you are working on actual military plans with regard to Iran,” Lieberman said. Petraeus responded, “Sir, again, that is probably best for a closed session. As you know, we get paid to prepare for [all sorts of] contingencies. It would be irresponsible [not to.] I try to be responsible.”
“I know how responsible you are,” Lieberman said. “So I assume that means you are working on plans. Let me go to Iraq.”
So, this is where Biden got the idea that lack of peace endangers the security of American soldiers.
Well, since Israel's security is an important element in all this, it should behoove Obama to get his act together for the benefit of everyone.
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http://www.theatlantic.com/jeffrey-goldberg/
Did Joe Biden Say What People Think He Said?
International Mar 16 2010, 8:36 AM ET
An Israeli newspaper, Yediot Ahronot, reported that Vice President Joe Biden, on his exciting visit to Israel, told the country's leaders that their actions were endangering American troops in the Middle East:
People who heard what Biden said were stunned. "This is starting to get dangerous for us," Biden castigated his interlocutors. "What you're doing here undermines the security of our troops who are fighting in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. That endangers us and it endangers regional peace."
The vice president told his Israeli hosts that since many people in the Muslim world perceived a connection between Israel's actions and US policy, any decision about construction that undermines Palestinian rights in East Jerusalem could have an impact on the personal safety of American troops fighting against Islamic terrorism.
Since I do not have overwhelming faith in the stenographic and interpretive skills of some Israeli reporters, I called the White House to ask if Biden actually said this. It would be quite something, of course, if he did. I spoke with a senior administration official last night who accompanied Biden on his trip to Israel, and he said that Biden did not say tell the Israelis that their actions were endangering American troops. Here is what the official told me:
"The assertion I read in the newspaper suggested that the Vice President said something to the effect that Israeli actions are endangering American soldiers. He never said that, and there's no basis to assert that he did. It's nothing he said and I don't know how it was inferred.
What he did say in a meeting with the prime minister and his senior advisers and his own team was that the U.S. is doing a number of things in our national security interest, and in Israel's national security interest, and they include a strong effort to build a coalition against Iran's nuclear program; deploying 200,000 troops in conflict areas in the region; standing against efforts to delegitimize Israel in various international bodies, sometimes virtually alone; acting decisively against terrorists in very significant ways; and building probably the strongest defense cooperation relationship with Israel that we've seen, including on missile defense. And he said that the extent to which Israel aggressively pursues peace makes these efforts easier."
I'm thinking that Israel should preempt that whole idea.
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