... And now we may be entering a new era in which the US no longer excludes Israel from the test of whether our interests and those of Israel coincide. That litmus test was not applied to Israel. Now the push for peace, the New York Times reports in an analysis of a policy change, may get more aggressive.
When Mr. Obama declared that resolving the long-running Middle East dispute was a “vital national security interest of the United States,” he was highlighting a change that has resulted from a lengthy debate among his top officials over how best to balance support for Israel against other American interests.
This shift, described by administration officials who did not want to be quoted by name when discussing internal discussions, is driving the White House’s urgency to help broker a Middle East peace deal.
Obama says the Israel-Palestine conflict is “'costing us significantly in terms of both blood and treasure' — drawing an explicit link between the Israeli-Palestinian strife and the safety of American soldiers as they battle Islamic extremism and terrorism in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere."
Amen. Now stand by and gear up for the brouhaha.
