The visit to the Kingdom has been a precursor to the major speech President Obama is to deliver today. In this speech in Cairo, the President is expected to set out the parameters of what he hopes will be a more positive relationship between the United States and the Arab world.
One of the sticking points is, of course, the Arab/Israeli conflict over Palestine. It does not augur well that, while in Saudi Arabia, the new American Administration is reported to have sought some concessions to Israel from the Arab side. The President's people are likely to have been told that the Arab world has made enough concessions already, concessions that seem only to have encouraged Israeli intransigence.
If President Obama wishes to have an impact on the Arab/Israeli conflict, he has to understand that the United States has to compel Israel to make 'concessions' in the form of treating the Palestinians as people with as much right to live their lives and to enjoy human dignity as any Israeli. If the President has no stomach for such a fight with Israel, any initiative is doomed to failure and will only cause further disillusion and frustration in the Arab and Islamic world..
Links
