Clinton seeks new Mideast talks

On her first trip to the Middle East as secretary of state, Hillary Clinton this week said the Obama administration would be “vigorously engaged” in creating a Palestinian state and that “a two-state solution is inescapable.” She pledged to work with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, calling his administration “the partner on the road to a comprehensive peace,” and said the U.S. would continue to shun Hamas, the Islamist group that controls Gaza. At an aid conference in Egypt, Clinton announced a $900 million U.S. aid package for Gaza, but stipulated that no money would go to Hamas.

In a break with Bush administration policy, Clinton said the Obama administration would open talks with Syria. Two senior U.S. officials were dispatched to begin “preliminary conversations” with Syrian diplomats. The U.S. withdrew its ambassador to Syria in 2005 following the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, a crime that investigators have linked to Syria.

Aside from reaching out to Syria, Clinton’s agenda seems no different from that of the Bush administration, said the Baltimore Sun in an editorial. While conveying “a genuine interest in not wasting any more time,” she merely reiterated that Abbas is the only viable Palestinian negotiating partner and that Hamas must recognize Israel and renounce terrorism before the U.S. will engage it. If the Obama administration “has anything up its sleeve to move the stalled process forward,” we certainly haven’t seen it.

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That’s because Clinton’s mission was a “sideshow,” said Shmuel Rosner in The New Republic Online. There are no brilliant ideas for ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. So the Obama administration will instead go through the motions: “Promise money (that might not come), visit frequently (thus avoiding criticism because of ‘lack of engagement’), speak loudly (when you have a very small stick).”

Without question, “the obstacles to peace in the region are daunting,” said The Boston Globe. The new Israeli government is likely to be led by Benjamin Netanyahu, who opposes a Palestinian state. Palestinians are in disarray and “Egypt is trying to broker agreement on a unity government” between Abbas’ Fatah faction and its rival Hamas. Yet despite the odds, Clinton’s efforts are vital: Israelis and Palestinians need a peace accord “more desperately than ever.”