John Kerry

John Kerry's Mission Impossible?
by Hussein Ibish Apr 4, 2013 5:00 PM EDT
Secretary of State John Kerry is heading back to the Middle East this weekend for yet another round of meetings. Following on the heels of President Barack Obama's trip to the region, Kerry has embarked on a campaign of intensive shuttle diplomacy. But the State Department is at pains to stress that he is not yet presenting any new American peace initiative.
Kerry, who has embraced this issue with a heartening degree of enthusiasm, will undoubtedly try to elicit from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas what inducements would get them to consider a return to the negotiating table.

Apart from the fact that he's walking into a situation on the ground that is increasingly volatile—with two Palestinian teenagers recently shot and killed in violent clashes with Israeli occupation forces—there are two structural obstacles facing Kerry in talking about talks with both leaders.
...

This week, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry wrapped up a three-day diplomatic trip to Israel and Palestine that he deemed “very constructive." But how constructive will his proposed initiatives really be for Palestinians and their cause of liberation from occupation? The early indications are: not very.
...
Ultimately, no matter how much Kerry “lifts the red tape” hindering commerce in Palestine, Israel still controls the purse strings, trade and movement for the “state” of Palestine. That's why the World Bank and International Monetary Fund say the best thing that could happen for the Palestinian economy would be an end to Israel's occupation. But that's precisely the economic fix that Kerry can't deliver.

President Obama staked out key diplomatic positions in Israel’s favor during his pre-Passover visit. If handled properly, they could help form the basis for progress toward Arab-Israeli peace. Unfortunately, Secretary of State John Kerry’s high-profile follow-up shuttle diplomacy is wasting Obama’s work.

Most analysis of Obama’s trip focused on his own “charm offensive” performance and the resulting boost to his lagging approval ratings in both Israel and the pro-Israel community in America. But those analyses miss the bigger picture: from Israel’s perspective, success should be measured less by a fleeting blip in Obama’s poll numbers, and more by the key substantive statements and projection of American-Israeli unity Israel was able to elicit from the President. In that regard, Israel should be thrilled with the results.
...
That is a formidable diplomatic task—perhaps still impossible—requiring effort, shrewdness, advance work and finesse far beyond just shuttling between capitals and showing up for high-visibility meetings. Yet Kerry jumped right in, seemingly more interested in the photo opportunities of his job than the diplomatic opportunities.

Combine that with Kerry’s history of underestimating the malicious intentions of America’s enemies and enemies of our allies—whether Viet Cong, Sandinista or his “dear friend” Bashar Assad—and, predictably, he is off to a rough start.
...
Abraham Katsman is an American attorney and political commentator living in Israel. He serves as Counsel to Republicans Abroad Israel.

John Kerry's Middle East Mystery Tour

GERSHOM GORENBERG APRIL 11, 2013
Surprising everyone, the secretary of state really is pushing for Israeli-Palestinian peace.