George Mitchell's Mideast return

Can Obama break new ground with an envoy who has tried before?

George Mitchell's return to duty as Barack Obama's special envoy to the Middle East, said Jackson Diehl in The Washington Post, "is a reminder that much of what the new administration is facing in the region isn't new—and neither is the initial strategy that Obama has adopted."

Obama learned one thing from the Clinton and Bush administrations' failed "final-year" peace pushes, said USA Today in an editorial. Every modern president gets embroiled in the conflict between Israel and Palestine eventually, so it's best to plunge in at the outset. And Mitchell is an "honest broker" with experience, so picking him is a good start.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us