Friday January 23, 2009

I've Been Thinking:

George Mitchell was just named Special Envoy to the Middle East in the Obama administration.

After the announcement, I re-read the Mitchell Report.
The report was issued to the Israelis and the Palestinians on May 4, 2001.
The commission that wrote the report, chaired by the former senator, was tasked with addressing a series of specific problems that resulted in increased tensions and hostilities between Israeli and Palestinians.

The Mitchell Report is brutally honest and sadly, not optimistic.
The objective of the report was to provide a path to "end violence, rebuild confidence and resume negotiations." It lays out some clear changes that must be implemented by both sides for any progress to occur. Both sides are portrayed as in need of drastic change in behavior in order to reduce tensions and resume dialogue. The biggest issues within the report are the need for Israel to stop settlement activity and the need for Palestinians to stop terror.

Special Envoy Mitchell believes in an evenhanded approach.
That evenhanded perspective is deeply problematic to Israel, a country that has enjoyed a trusted and special relationship with the United States these past sixty years.

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