Mideast Peace Talk Kabuki

By Eric Margolis, LewRockwell.com, Sep 7, 2010

On 2 Sept, 2001, in a newspaper rticle, I wrote: “America’s strategic and economic interests in the Mideast and Muslim world are being threatened by the agony in Palestine, which inevitably invites terrorist attacks against US citizens and property.”

The 9/11 attacks came nine days later.

President Barack Obama is absolutely right to seek an end to the endless suffering of Palestinians. It is an affront to humanity and gravely undermines America’s values, security and prestige.

In my most recent book, American Raj – America and the Muslim World, I tried to show how the poisonous conflict over Palestine has generated much of what we call “terrorism,” and how it is dragging the United States ever into a deeper but unnecessary conflict with the Muslim world.

For those yearning to see an end to the seven decade Jewish-Palestinian conflict, to see security and tranquility for Israel, and justice for Palestinians, last week’s so-called “peace talks” in Washington were a painful farce.

President Obama convoked Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to meet in Washington with Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas, Egypt’s strongman, Husni Mubarak, and Jordan’s King Abdullah.

The result was the same kind of tired, stale Mideast political kabuki that has dragged on for the past decade: platitudes about peace, cheery handshakes, and talks about talks about talks.

All involved knew that this was political theater designed to beguile American voters into believing progress was being made in the eternal Mideast mess.

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