Clemons/Washington Note: Jim Lobe Gets Different Takes on Israel Election

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Jim Lobe Gets Different Takes on Israel Election

nter-Press' Jim Lobe, who also writes the LobeLog blog, has a good piece of analysis out about the impact of the recent elections in Israel on the Middle East peace process.

Lobe interviews Marc Ginsberg, Aaron David Miller, M.J. Rosenberg and me. Miller is the most pessimistic. Ginzberg, who I ran into last night at the Metropolitan Club at a party with Colorado Senators Michael Bennet and Mark Udall, made it clear to me that there is still an opportunity to nudge the key parties together to get a credible process going.

Both M.J. Rosenberg and I think that having Netanyahu in charge actually presents more opportunities than obstacles in that it removes the gauze of believing in moderation from the Israeli side -- and gives Obama's team the opportunity to play tackle ball.

I realize that there are many who disagree with my take -- but I think that Israel-Palestine issues are fundamental to any broad resolution in the Middle East, and that we can't afford for the Middle East peace business to produce and preside over more failure.

Here are some of the perspectives that Lobe wove into his essay: ... http://www.thewashingtonnote.com/archives/2009/02/jim_lobe_gets_d/