Obama's second term: The case for an Arab-Israeli peace push

U.S. presidents almost always use their second terms to try and get Israelis and Palestinians to forge a lasting peace. They haven't succeeded yet

President Obama meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sept. 21
(Image credit: Aaron Showalter-Pool/Getty Images)

Tackling Mideast peace is often a second-term, legacy-oriented project for many commanders-in-chief, but President Obama jumped in on Day 1... almost. "On his second day in office in 2009," says Elise Labott at CNN, "Obama appointed former Sen. George Mitchell as an envoy to Mideast peace and pledged to work 'actively and aggressively' to secure a final peace deal between Israelis and Palestinians." Obviously, that hasn't worked out well. Thanks to a combination of factors — among them dysfunctional Palestinian leadership, a testy relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, tensions over Iran's nuclear program, and rising uncertainty from the Arab Spring — "four years later, Israelis and Palestinians are father apart from a deal than at any time in the decades-long peace process."

The issue: Israeli-Palestinian peace

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