International Relations -- Pushing The Peace Process

May 8, 2009

by Faiz Shakir, Amanda Terkel, Satyam Khanna, Matt Corley, Benjamin Armbruster, Ali Frick, and Ryan Powers

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Pushing The Peace Process

Earlier this week, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), "the nation's major pro-Israel lobby," held its annual policy conference in Washington, DC. Attended by "more than half the members of the House and Senate," the conference featured major foreign policy speeches by Vice President Biden and Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry (D-MA). Noting America's "commitment to the peace and security of the state of Israel," Biden said that"all of us have obligations to meet, including the Israeli and Palestinian commitments made in the road map." "The Palestinian Authority must combat terror and incitement against Israel," the Vice President said, "but Israel has to work towards a two-state solution. You're not going to like my saying this, but not build more settlements, dismantle existing outposts, and allow the Palestinians freedom of movement based on their first actions." Kerry echoed Biden's themes, arguing that while the Palestinians "must do enormous work to uphold their end of the bargain," "Israel , too, must take hard steps towards the path to peace." "And nothing will do more to show Israel's commitment to making peace than freezing new settlement activity," Kerry said. Though new Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "has so far shied away from publicly supporting a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict," the AIPAC conference this week indicated some potential movement toward that position. As the Jewish Telegraphic Agency's Ron Kampeas noted yesterday, "The AIPAC delegates' wish list included endorsements for two congressional letters that unequivocally support a 'viable Palestinian state.'" "Such an endorsement for the concept by AIPAC is unlikely to have come without some sort of nod fromJerusalem," wrote Kampeas, pointing out that "Netanyahu addressed the conference via satellite and sent some of his top advisers."

PROGRESS ON SECURITY IN WEST BANK: In his speech, Biden noted that "the United States and its partners have provided funding and training for a reformed Palestinian security force, which has impressed everyone, including the Israeli security officers with its recent demonstrations of professionalism and effectiveness." "We are right now seeking funds from Congress to expand this program," said the Vice President. Last week, the State Department released a report on worldwide terrorism that said "the Palestinian Authority's (PA) counterterrorism efforts improved in 2008, with Prime Minister Salam Fayyad's government engaged in efforts to control terrorist groups, particularly Hamas." "All observers, including Israeli security officials, credited [Palestinian Authority security forces] with significant security improvements across the West Bank," said the report. At the same time, the report noted that the security forces' "ability to counter terrorism was hindered by a lack of resources, unclear chain-of-command, and [Israeli Defense Forces]-imposed restrictions on their movement, equipment, and operations." In March, retired Brigadier General Ilan Paz, the former head of the Israeli Civil Administration in the West Bank, told the Middle East Bulletin (MEB) that while "there is a need" for roadblocks and checkpoints in the West Bank, "changing the existing situation of access and movement in the West Bank is very, very important for Palestinians." "Therefore, I believe that we have to continue reducing the number of these obstacles," said Paz. Meanwhile, Hamas -- which controls the Gaza Strip -- continues to spar with its rival Fatah over a power-sharing agreement. Attempts to resolve differences between the two factions have failed thus far.

MOVING FORWARD ON OBLIGATIONS: In the same interview with the Middle East Bulletin, Paz called settlements "one of the main challenges affecting any kind of peace agreement in the future." As Kerry explained in his speech at AIPAC, "the fact is that settlements make it more difficult for Israel to protect its citizens." "New settlements, especially in sensitive areas like E-1, don't just fragment a future Palestinian state, they also fragment what the Israeli Defense Forces must defend. They undercut President Abbas and strengthen Hamas by convincing everyday Palestinians that there is no reward for moderation. The settlements also empower the enemies of peace in the region," said Kerry. During a hearing on rebuilding Gaza last February, Rep. Robert Wexler (D-FL) argued that the continued growth of settlements hurt the prospect of a two-state solution. "The notion that Israel can continue to expand settlements, whether it be through natural growth or otherwise, without diminishing the capacity of a two-state solution, is both unrealistic and, I would respectfully suggest, hypocritical," said Wexler. The commitments made in the road map included taking "a ll necessary steps to normalize Palestinian life." But as Robert Drumheller, the vice president of structured finance for the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, told MEB in April 2009, the "high number of checkpoints" is a detriment toward improving the Palestinian economy. "Clearly, if you can minimize the checkpoints or at least develop some solution to move commercial goods in an expedited manner through checkpoints, that would make a big difference," said Drumheller.

LINKING IRAN TO PROGRESS ON TWO-STATES: In an interview with the MEB, Israeli President Shimon Peres said that he believed "it is worthwhile to leverage the positive spirit of the Arab Peace Initiative to assist in a regional peace process." At the same time, the new Israeli government, led by Netanyahu, "is seeking to reorient the country's foreign policy" to focus on "the rising hegemonic appetite of Iran" rather than the peace process. In contrast, "President Obama views the region as a whole, and trying to isolate each problem does not reflect reality," a senior U.S. official told the New York Times. "It will be a lot easier to build a coalition to deal with Iran if the peace process is moving forward."Daniel Kurtzer, the former U.S. ambassador to Israel and Egypt told the Council on Foreign Relations recently that "these are complex interwoven issues which have to be dealt with in a rather nuanced but very aggressive manner. And in the first instance, the diplomatic engagement on both tracks -- the Iranian and the Arab-Israeli peace process issues -- really is called for." American officials believe that "the opportunity for a regional alliance against Iranian influence is great," but they argue that in order for "Arab leaders to work alongside Israel on this, even quietly, requires demonstrable Israeli movement on ending its occupation of the West Bank by freezing or reducing settlements and handing over more power to the Palestinians." The desire for Arab leaders to engage constructively with Israel, as Center for American Progress Senior Fellow Brian Katulis has noted, means that the Obama administration "will need to manage the linkages between these two challenges carefully." "As the international community works to ratchet up the pressure on Iran and increase the costs on the regime for its nuclear program, it is not inconceivable that Iran would seek to distract and act on other fronts -- like trying to scuttle any efforts to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict and further undermine the situation," Katulis wrote last November.

ENVIRONMENT -- PRO-COAL GROUP LAUNCHES FACTLESS 'FACTUALITY TOUR': Competing with Stephen Colbert's "truthiness," the coal front group American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE) is launching an online "Factuality Tour" of five states to obscure the toxicity and pollution of coal. As part of the tour, ACCCE is selling "Factuality" hats, "Factuality" tank tops, and "Factuality" organic baby bodysuits. You can even "spread the word" online with "Factuality" widgets and badges. However, as the Wonk Room's Brad Johnson wrote, "No amount of PR spending or jazzy jingles can obscure the actual facts about coal: it’s a dirty killer of jobs, health, and the environment." The first stop on the "Factuality Tour" was Arch Coal's Black Thunder Surface Mine in Wyoming. In 2008 alone, Arch Coal generated 223 million tons of carbon dioxide, approximately three percent of all U.S. emissions. Yet despite having made $929 million since 2003, Arch Coal is not investing in a single project to develop the technology needed to capture and store coal's global warming pollution, according to a Center for American Progress analysis. What Arch Coal is investing in, however, is lobbying members of Congress. The company spent $970,000 last year lobbying Congress, and has already spent $240,000 this year. Indeed, the "Factuality Tour," is just another product of the ACCCE's $40 million budget for lobbying and ads promoting the idea of carbon capture without actually investing in the technology to bring the idea to fruition.

CIVIL RIGHTS -- ARABIC-SPEAKING GAY LINGUIST DISMISSED FROM ARMY DUE TO 'DON'T ASK, DON'T TELL': During the presidential campaign, then-Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) said that if elected, he would repeal the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT) policy, which bars openly gay men and women from serving in the armed forces. Obama argued, "We're spending large sums of money to kick highly qualified gays or lesbians out of our military, some of whom possess specialties like Arab-language capabilities that we desperately need." But the Obama administration has resisted moving to repeal the policy, with Defense Secretary of Defense Robert Gates saying he hoped to "push that one down the road a little bit." Now, the first Arabic linguist is being dismissed from the military under Obama's watch. "Dan Choi, a West Point graduate and officer in the Army National Guard who is fluent in Arabic and who returned recently from Iraq, received notice today that the military is about to fire him. Why? Because he came out of the closet as a gay man on national television,"University of California political science professor Aaron Belkin wrote yesterday. In a handwritten letter to Sandy Tsao, another soldier dismissed for being openly gay, Obama wrote that he is "committed to changing our current policy" but that "it will take some time to complete (partly because it needs Congressional action)." According to Belkin, a soon-to-be-released study by a group of experts in military law will show that "President Obama does, in fact, have stroke-of-the-pen authority to suspend gay discharges."

RADICAL RIGHT -- CHRISTIAN RIGHT: OBAMA IS A HERETIC FOR OBSERVING DAY OF PRAYER IN PRIVATE JUST LIKE MOST OTHER PRESIDENTS: Yesterday, President Obama signed a proclamation recognizing a National Day of Prayer (NDP), but he did not continue George W. Bush's practice of holding a "formal White House event." Leading up to the proclamation, conservative commentators spent days suggesting that Obama was in some way attempting to downplay the significance of the NDP -- and thus faith in general. Hate radio talker Rush Limbaugh went so far as to suggest that Obama was trying to "cancel" the NDP, while the conservative National Day of Prayer Task Force issued a statement suggesting that Obama was departing from historical tradition. The Task Force claimed that Obama's decision was "contrary to the administrations of President George W. Bush, President George H. W. Bush, and President Ronald Reagan." On Fox and Friends yesterday, co-host Steve Doocy echoed the claim that Reagan and George H. W. Bush held events similar to that of George W. Bush. Guest Elisabeth Hasselbeck asserted that public events at the White House on the National Day of Prayer stretched back to President Truman and strangely suggested that Obama's decision was interfering in Americans' right to "gather and pray" in public. In reality, it was Bush who broke with tradition by holding official White House events on the NDP. Indeed, the National Day of Prayer Task Force spokesperson Brian Toon actually admitted days before that "[t]here was no East Room event until George W." Indeed, despite the Task Force's claim yesterday that Reagan and H. W. Bush were in the habit holding White House events on the NDP, U.S. News and World Report explained that each of them held such events only once during their presidencies.

New employment data from the Labor Department released this morning shows that employers shed 539,000 jobs in April, while the unemployment rate climbed to 8.9 percent. Economists had anticipated a drop of 600,000 jobs.

Attorney General Eric Holder said yesterday that getting Dawn Johnsen confirmed to head the Office of Legal Counsel is "probably my top priority." At a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing, Holder said the office requires the "solidity and continuity" of a Senate-confirmed assistant attorney general.

Former Republican Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge announced that he won't run for Senate. "[M]y desire and intention is to help my party craft solutions that both sides of the aisle can embrace," he said. "My hope is to raise the level of civility in public debate and raise the bar on outcomes that serve our citizens fully, fairly and equally."

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) has backed out of plans to attend the White House correspondents' annual dinner on Saturday, to which she was invited as a guest of Fox News. Due to "a state of emergency because of record flooding in Eagle, AK," Palin will be unable to make the trip to D.C. and has also had to pull out of co-hosting a dinner in Virginia for the Republican Governors Association.

The Congressional Black Caucus is "launching a campaign to persuade President Obama to appoint one of their members," Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA), to replaced Justice David Souter on the Supreme Court.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said yesterday that "Pakistan would launch a full-scale offensive against Pakistani Taliban guerrillas who've seized control of the vast Swat valley." He said the government had tried peaceful negotiation but the strategy failed. Pakistan will no longer "bow our heads before the terrorists," Gilani said in a TV address to the nation.

In his FY 2010 budget, President Obama boosted his commitment to immigration enforcement, calling "for extra money to build an employee-verification system and to pay for more personnel and equipment to patrol the border." "If the American people don't feel like you can secure the borders," he said last week, "then it's hard to strike a deal that would get people out of the shadows."

FEMA will be taking away the temporary housing they provided to Louisiana residents after Hurricane Katrina at the end of May despite the fact that many residents have just received money to rebuild in the last six months or "are struggling with inadequate grants or no money at all."

And finally: Project Runway's Tim Gunn was on Capitol Hill earlier this week making it work. Gunn met with Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TN), telling the congressman, "You look great!" Smith then "lined up his staff" and had Gunn critique their outfits. One female staffer was "complimented on her grey skirt and sweater paired with a light brown belt. Gunn said, 'This outfit is all about the belt and it works.'" A male staffer fared less well, however, when he was "was scolded and told to buy a properly fitting suit jacket."

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has announced that the crown of the Statue of Liberty will reopen July 4. It has been closed to visitors since Sept. 11, 2001.

THINK PROGRESS: VIDEO: GOP lawmakers waste no time in embracing Frank Luntz's vapid "patient-doctor" health care rhetoric.

WONK ROOM: Rep. Mike Doyle (D-PA) says the House climate change bill will subsidize polluters for "ten to fifteen years."

YGLESIAS: Conservatives are against being against racism.

EZRA KLEIN: CNBC's strange relationship to credibility.

MARYLAND: Maryland becomes the first state to make attacks on the homeless a hate crime.

CALIFORNIA: The Obama administration threatens to rescind billions in stimulus money if Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) and the legislature do not restore wage cuts to unionized home health care workers.

OKLAHOMA: Gov. Brad Henry (D) protests President Obama's elimination of tax breaks for Big Oil.

"Our country has ruled [that the Chinese Uighur detainees at Guantanamo Bay] are no longer an enemy combatant threat to us."
-- Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), 5/06/09, on Fox News

VERSUS

Q: We're still holding people who haven't done anything.
GRAHAM: No, that's not true. ... Everybody we've held has gone through a military board, and the military labeled them an enemy combatant.
-- Graham, 5/06/09, arguing in support of holding terror detainees "forever"

Think Progress

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