Hillary Clinton: One Year And Mideast Peace A Reality. Can It Be?

No doubt there will be great difficulties associated with new Mideast peace talks now scheduled for September, but Secretary of State Hillary Clinton states that she expects outstanding issues to be resolved within a year.

The new round of talks, the fanfare and summitry and the high new expectations come after talks broke down at the end of the Bush administration and languished despite President Barack Obama’s personal engagement. And the opening of direct negotiations reflects no actual agreement on specific issues, with everything from Palestinians’ “right of return” to Hamas’s control of Gaza standing between the parties and comprehensive peace.

“I’ve invited Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Abbas to meet on Sept. 2 in Washington, D.C., to relaunch direct negotiations to resolve all final status issues which we believe can be completed in one year,” Clinton said. “The enemies of peace will keep tying to defeat us and to derail these talks. But I ask the parties to persevere. To keep moving forward even through difficult times. And to continue working to achieve a just and lasting peace in the region.”

The talks will relaunch after a dinner in Washington on Sept. 1 hosted by President Obama, which will include both Israeli and Palestinian leaders, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, and Jordan’s King Abdullah, as well as the representative of the Quartet, Tony Blair.

By: Alan

Alan Colmes is the publisher of Liberaland.