The American-Israeli Alliance under New Administrations: The American Perspective

Much has happened in this region since I chaired the Sharm el-Sheikh fact finding committee in 2001. Seven years, or even sixty years, is a long time  But consider Northern Ireland, where long time enemies came together to form a power-sharing government. This was almost eight hundred years after Britain began its domination of Ireland, eighty-six years after the partition of Ireland, thirty-eight years after the British army formally began its most recent mission in Ireland, eleven years after the peace talks began, and nine years after the peace agreement was signed. In the negotiations that led up to that agreement we had seven hundred days of failure and one day of success. I spent five years going to, coming from, and working in Northern Ireland, during which I chaired three separate sets of negotiations. For almost all of that time progress was very slow or mostly non-existent. So for those in the Middle East who are discouraged, I understand your feelings. But from my experience in Northern Ireland I formed the conviction that there is no such thing as a conflict that can’t be ended. Conflicts are created and conducted by human beings. They can be ended by human beings. I saw it happen in Northern Ireland, although admittedly it took a very long time. I believe deeply that with committed and active diplomacy it can happen in the Middle East.