Breaking President Obama invites Mubarak, Abbas and Netanyahu to Washington DC

[grantcart]

That all three seem to be coming for private individual talks in the same time period seems to preview a more balanced perspective on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/04/21/obama.mideast/index.html

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Obama has invited key leaders in the Middle East to Washington in the coming weeks for consultations on the peace process, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Tuesday.


President Obama speaks to the media during a meeting with Jordan's King Abdullah on Tuesday.

Obama wants to meet separately with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Gibbs told reporters.

Dates for the visits are still being worked out, he said.

Obama met with Jordan's King Abdullah II on Tuesday

[Beetwasher]

1. This Is Such A Beautiful Thing!

:thumbsup:

A real, serious effort at peacemaking.

[grantcart]

3. this guy doesn't slow down -- he seems to be picking up speed.

[AtomicKitten]

2. Diplomacy in action.

:patriot:

[Cha]

4. Brilliant!

My second thought is the mediawhores will try to find something bad about this. Fuck 'em.

[no_hypocrisy]

5. Check Mate on Netanyahu. He has to attend or look like a hypocrite.

But man, will he drag his heels at this summit.

[grantcart]

6. Exactly and he has to compete to be reasonable.

He also won't be able to control what is leaked out from the other meetings.


BTW its not a summit but three different bilateral talks.


This, IMHO, is also smart because it is not raising any expectations - just conditioning the ground for the future.

[DrToast]

7. But will he care if he looks like a hypocrite?

[glitch]

9. That is just icing on the cake.

:applause: to President Obama, this is a WOW!

[Aloha Spirit]

8. King Abdullah is on a mission. He's been to like half a dozen countries drumming up pressure for a

peace deal.
It seems to me we have a lot of long odds out there right now, in foreign policy especially, but at least our people now have a sense of purpose in the middle east.
For a region that's been fought over for thousands of years, Obama's foreign policy, from Iran to NMD, seems to be contingent on bring peace and a two state solution.

[grantcart]

10. Exactly right

I think the moderate Arab lobby in the ME will be working on overdrive to get something done this time. From their point of view who knows when the US will elect somebody reasonable enough to be an honest broker.

[Aloha Spirit]

17. an honest broker, and a "light in the imperialist darkness"

says Gadhafi.
Anyone you think will actively try to get in the way? I mean, besides Cheney lol.

Whenever I read about Netanyahu, I remember Livni responding to a question about how do you remove West Bank settlements,

Q: Can you really imagine evacuating the tens of thousands of settlers who say they will not leave?
LIVNI: It’s not going to be easy, but this is the only solution.
Q: But you know that there are settlers who say, “We will fight. We will not leave. We will fight.”
LIVNI: So this is the responsibility of the government, of the police to stop them, as simple as that. Israel is a state of law and order.

[K Gardner]

11. But WAIT ! Moving. Too. Fast. Freepers at work still stuck on Handshake ! arghhh!

[Spazito]

12. Very good news!

President Obama certainly doesn't let any grass grow under his feet!

Recommended.

[Hippo_Tron]

13. Great as this is, there is no peace in the Middle East without Assad and Khamenei

Israel's neighbors have mostly come to terms with its existence and are ready to see peace happen. Likewise Israelis (except for the far right) are ready for peace as well. But Syria and Iran are the only two nations still not on board and so long as they still wield influence in Lebanon and the Palestinian territories, there will be no peace.

If Obama really wants peace he needs to get Netanyahu to sit down with Khamenei and Assad. But the guy is only human.

[grantcart]

14. My guess is that the moderate Arab states are forming a pressure group to

make the fringe players come no board. They must know that the Obama Presidency is a unique opportunity to start over with a rational approach.

From their point of view they have to be wondering "who will the US pick after Obama".


Can you imagine what they must be thinking about a Palin presidency?


I expect we are going to see a lot of movement but it will still be a 9 act play.

[Born_A_Truman]

15. What a difference from 8 years ago!

I hope to see peace in that region in my lifetime.

[jenmito]

16. It almost sounds like the beginning of a joke about 3 people walking into a bar. n/t

[Odin2005]

18. Nut-n-yahoo is Pwned by Obama!

BWAHAHAHA!!! :evilgrin:

[grantcart]

19. lol

[grantcart]

20. CNN has expanded its original story.

The leadership of Hamas, considered by the United States and Israel to be a terrorist organization, is not being invited. The group, which also provides social services, won elections in the Palestinian territories in 2006, prompting stringent sanctions from the West.

After the election, skirmishes between Abbas' Fatah and Hamas escalated, ending with Hamas in charge in Gaza and the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority in charge in the West Bank.

A six-month cease-fire between Hamas and Israel ended late last year and was followed by Israel's three-week incursion into Gaza. Israel said that operation was aimed at halting rocket and mortar fire on its southern towns and communities.

Despite a cease-fire called in January at the end of that fight, both Hamas rocket fire and Israeli airstrikes have continued.

Obama appointed a special Middle East envoy on his second full day in office -- former Sen. George Mitchell -- and dispatched him to the region within weeks.

Last week, during his third trip to the region since his appointment, Mitchell reiterated the U.S. desire to see a "two-state solution" in the Middle East, bringing speculation that the United States and Israel's new right-leaning government could be on a collision-course.

Netanyahu has indicated he wants serious negotiations with the Palestinians to continue, but he has not explicitly stated his support for Palestinian statehood.

[me b zola]

21. Well played

:fistbump:

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

22. An Egyptian an Israeli and a Palestinian walk into a bar....... nt

[grantcart]

23. and the President, who happens to be an African American, says

[cliffordu]

24. Does The President ever sleep????

Jesus. I can't keep up -

K&R.

Even if it IS grantcart's thread.

[Kdillard]

25. baby steps. I am hoping this will lead to something substantive.

[Forkboy]

26. That's the only kind of steps we'll get in the region.

:)