Writing for
The Washington Post, Middle East expert Aaron David Miller describes his
disillusionment with a U.S. brokered Middle East peace settlement. Here's the key quote:
I was tilting at windmills. U.S.-brokered peace in the Middle East is a quixotic quest. And the more we try and fail, the less credibility and leverage we have in the region.
He describes what hindsight tells him today:
Strong U.S. mediation can’t make up for weak leadership of the parties to a negotiation. We can’t talk them into getting control over their political constituencies. And we can’t expect that our enthusiasm will persuade them to invest in solutions, take necessary risks or recognize that a negotiated settlement is in their interest (and not just ours).
And this:
When it comes to matters that cut to the core of people’s identities — such as Jerusalem or Palestinian refugees, or the social engineering required to end Syria’s civil war — or creating an outcome in Iraq or Libya that produces stability and good governance, the United States doesn’t have the horses to pull the wagon. The inconvenient reality is that we will never have a greater stake in this region, or more power to remedy its ills, than those who live there.
I hope to live long enough to see a U.S. president who has the courage to leave the Middle East to its own miserable devices. The exception: when it becomes necessary to gut-punch some malefactor - individual or group - who has taken action against U.S. persons or vital interests narrowly defined.
