Mitchell Considered for Mideast Post

Former senator gets Mideast portfolio; ex-ambassador Afghanistan and Pakistan

(NEWSER) - President Obama and newly minted Secretary of State Hillary Clinton moved quickly today to build the administration’s diplomatic efforts, naming George Mitchell and Richard Holbrooke special envoys, Reuters reports; both appointments were expected. Former Sen. Mitchell will focus on facilitating peace talks between Israel and Palestine, while ex-UN ambassador Holbrooke will address issues in war-torn Pakistan and Afghanistan. More»

(NEWSER) - Newly appointed Middle East special envoy George Mitchell will make his first trip to Israel next week, possibly as early as Wednesday, the Jerusalem Post reports. Mitchell is expected to meet with top Israeli officials and leaders of the Palestinian Authority. The main priority will be ensuring that the current Gaza cease-fire holds. More in-depth initiatives will likely wait until after Israel’s upcoming elections. More»

A victory for Obama, Clinton—but peace a long way off

(NEWSER) - It's official: After a 20-month hiatus, Israeli and Palestinian leaders will resume direct peace talks. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced today that talks will begin Sept. 2 in Washington, with the goal of reaching a settlement within one year, the AP reports . "There have been difficulties in the past; there will be difficulties ahead. Without a doubt, we will hit more obstacles," she said. "The enemies of peace will keep trying to defeat us and to derail these talks. But I ask the parties to persevere." More»

PM appeasing government's extreme right, writes Christopher Hitchens

(NEWSER) - Benjamin Netanyahu is a hostage to the extreme right of Israel’s government, and the Obama administration is trying to appease him—a decision the US “will come to regret.” The US offer of “ security incentives and fighter jets ” following a proposed temporary freeze in settlement-building makes Christopher Hitchens wonder: Why does America “acquiesce so wretchedly in its own disgrace at the hands of a virtual client state?” More»

And Israel hates him for it

(NEWSER) - The president isn't a popular man in Jerusalem these days, thanks to his call for a freeze on Israel's illegal settlements in the West Bank, and rumors that he's hatching his own Mideast peace plan. “Barack Obama is a disaster for Israel,” one liberal commentator there tells Gideon Rachman of the Financial Times . But the uproar reminds Rachman of the British rage when the US insisted on “talking to the terrorists” of the IRA. More»