Wednesday September 1, 2010

I've Been Thinking:

Tonight the ceremony begins.
Tonight the White House hosts Netanyahu, Abbas, Abdullah and Mubarak.

Tonight all sit together for a state dinner. Tonight the leaders of the United States, Israel, Jordan, Egypt and the Palestinian Authority will break bread. Conspicuously absent from this event is Hamas - but their presence has already, sadly, tragically, been felt. The pomp and circumstance of the event will be more fitting for the end of the process than for the beginning.

The irony is that, while very few people appreciate this fact, this entire event could easily have taken place 20 months ago when Obama first took office. It was President Obama's insistence that forced the hand of the Palestinians and brought about the response of the Israelis.

In January 2009 talks between the Israelis and Palestinians were ongoing. What a waste of time, energy, productivity and momentum.

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