"Israelis" ought to know well the limits of hard power against unbending rivals
Source: The Daily Star, 07-11-2008
The world is ready to move forward but "Israel" is clinging to the past
Editorial
Most people around the world are looking forward to the start of Barack Obama's presidency and have welcomed the prospect that the White House will soon see a dramatic change in policies. But while much of the globe is buzzing with eagerness to see Barak take his country in a new direction, ‘Israel's' Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni on Thursday betrayed a sense of nostalgia for the policies of George W. Bush. Livni, who heads ‘Israel's' Kadima, or "Forward" party, urged the US president-elect to reconsider his plans to start direct negotiations with Iran, arguing that dialogue might be perceived by the Islamic Republic "as a sign of weakness."
The alternatives to direct talks - including isolation, economic sanctions, threats of military action and other forms of sabre rattling - have been doggedly pursued by the Bush administration for the last eight years, and to no avail. Iran has neither pulled the plug on its nuclear program nor given any indication that it will be willing do so in the immediate future. On the contrary, the absence of any incentive for the Iranians to halt their nuclear program has served to encourage them to expand it considerably over the last few years, and the open exchange of threats between the US and Iran has unnecessarily exacerbated tensions in an already unstable region. Obama's decision to abandon the failed policies of the Bush administration and try a new strategy based on engagement is a good one - and five former US secretaries of state agree, according to their recent recommendations to the incoming president.
But while the Americans appear ready to set out in a new direction, even the most forward-looking ‘Israelis' seem to be clinging to the past. The ‘Israelis' should know better than anyone else that negotiating with sworn enemies under the right circumstances can bring major rewards, as they learned to varying degrees with old foes like Anwar Sadat and Yasser Arafat. And after successive debacles in Lebanon, including the most recent failed war of 2006, the ‘Israelis' ought to be well acquainted with the limits of hard power in the face of an unbending rival. One would expect that they would be a little more accepting of the need to change course.
The world is ready to move forward but "Israel" is clinging to the past
Editorial
Most people around the world are looking forward to the start of Barack Obama's presidency and have welcomed the prospect that the White House will soon see a dramatic change in policies. But while much of the globe is buzzing with eagerness to see Barak take his country in a new direction, ‘Israel's' Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni on Thursday betrayed a sense of nostalgia for the policies of George W. Bush. Livni, who heads ‘Israel's' Kadima, or "Forward" party, urged the US president-elect to reconsider his plans to start direct negotiations with Iran, arguing that dialogue might be perceived by the Islamic Republic "as a sign of weakness."
The alternatives to direct talks - including isolation, economic sanctions, threats of military action and other forms of sabre rattling - have been doggedly pursued by the Bush administration for the last eight years, and to no avail. Iran has neither pulled the plug on its nuclear program nor given any indication that it will be willing do so in the immediate future. On the contrary, the absence of any incentive for the Iranians to halt their nuclear program has served to encourage them to expand it considerably over the last few years, and the open exchange of threats between the US and Iran has unnecessarily exacerbated tensions in an already unstable region. Obama's decision to abandon the failed policies of the Bush administration and try a new strategy based on engagement is a good one - and five former US secretaries of state agree, according to their recent recommendations to the incoming president.
But while the Americans appear ready to set out in a new direction, even the most forward-looking ‘Israelis' seem to be clinging to the past. The ‘Israelis' should know better than anyone else that negotiating with sworn enemies under the right circumstances can bring major rewards, as they learned to varying degrees with old foes like Anwar Sadat and Yasser Arafat. And after successive debacles in Lebanon, including the most recent failed war of 2006, the ‘Israelis' ought to be well acquainted with the limits of hard power in the face of an unbending rival. One would expect that they would be a little more accepting of the need to change course.
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