President Obama’s speech in Cairo today revealed the difficult balancing act he faces in trying to address conflicts that have generally eluded most American presidents. Reaching out to the Muslim World while condemning Islamic extremism, shoring up alliances while pressing for greater democratization and freedoms, and generally wielding both carrots and sticks is always a tough balancing act, but nowehere moreso than in the tinderbox that is the Middle East. To my mind, it was another fantastic speech. But whether it has any concrete impact is another question entirely.
His position becomes especially tenuous when one thinks of the concessions he is demanding from Israel. (I should point out that a few years back I was a fellow with the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, an anti-terrorism think tank based in Washington, DC.) I am a supporter of Israel. I am also a supporter of a two-state solution in which a legitimate Palestinian state emerges. But that state must forswear terrorism. Israel is the only liberal democracy in the region and thus indeed does deserve America’s strongest support. At the same time, the settlements in the West Bank simply have to be stopped and rolled back. A tiny percentage of willful right wingers should not have the ability to scuttle agreements by virtue of their intransigence.
