Another issue that Obama addressed at the UN today was peace in the Middle East. Obama says it is time for Palestinians and Isrealis to pave the road to peace. He says that the two sides need to understand each other's arguments and rights, and respect them.
Obama also spoke of a world plan "to secure all vulnerable nuclear materials within four years" and said the U.S has "joined with Russia to sign the most comprehensive arms control agreement in decades."
I think, that as good as the plan for Isreal and Palestine sounds on Obama's part, he may be repeating the same logic people have had for decades. It is not a problem of what the countries must do, but whether they will do it, and for now, that seems unlikely. The same goes for the nuclear weapons plans. this kind of control would require the cooperation of Iran and other nations. Obama's plans seem to be simply the best, and most idealistic, but things are not as simple as he may like.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/09/23/un.obama.speech/index.html?hpt=T2
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5 comments:
If only life was that simple. The only way to get Israel and Palestine from bickering is through force for now at least is how I see it. But no one is going to do that, most likely. In fact, both of the things seem to require a bit of force in order for them to come true. But that would only cause more problems.
I agree with Olivia and agoya93- Palestine and Isreal have too much of a bloody past to think that someone outside their countries can help settle their differances. President Obama is curagous for attempting to settle their differances, but their differances go way too deep.
There's a difference between being pessimistic and being realistic. While improving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is a pressing issue, it can not realistically be accomplished so soon. While it appears that others believe that said countries cannot settle their issues without someone putting the foot down, I tend to disagree. Indeed, it seems as though Obama's views are yet another example of repetitive ideals that will not improve the situation. Furthermore, there has already been so much blood shed, it is difficult to tell whether or not these countries can actually work out an agreement. ON the other hand, there are multiple historical examples of adversaries making agreements. For example, Egypt and Israel managed to come to an agreement after Israel took the Sinai Peninsula and various other territories during the 6-Day War. Another example is the many START treaties between Russia and the United States. The latter example does not apply as well to this situation as does the former...regardless, there is still evidence of gradual improvement and concession. I know many people think of Obama as an idealist, but he has made several accomplishments in foreign policy and opened arms to diplomacy more than the Bush Administration did. Furthermore, he won the Nobel Peace Prize for his improvements in foreign policy. I do agree that, realistically, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict cannot be solved easily or in a timely manner. Unfortunately, it will take a long time. That might mean 50 years, or that might mean 100 years, or even 500 years (hopefully the Middle-East oil situation will not have created more chaos). Force is not the answer. If any outside nation infiltrates Palestine or Israel or both to settle their differences and rebuild those nations, it would be a clear violation of international law, even more lives would be lost, and the situation could crumble into even more catastrophe. Who would have the right to do that?
And was anyone else appalled by President Ahmedinejad's accusation of the U.S. government that 9/11 was a conspiracy?
I think that the cultural and religious significance of the conflict between the 2 existing parties (Israel and Palestine) is rooted too far in the past and in history to be solved with "peace" today. What is peace? Since both sides wouldn't agree to save their life with one another. I agree with Conor that realistically (though unfortunate as it may sound) the conflict won't be solved anytime soon...and may never be solved since it's taking 2 points of views that are so polarized from each other that it's impossible. I'm sorry...but when the US is getting involved in such problems as Israel and Palestine, it makes me wonder why domestically they aren't so focused and brining their focus to more relevant and close problems here. The US is no savior. We must address our own issues before we meddle in others'.
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