Is Obama Willing Enough?

During his long running presidential campaign, Barack Obama took an unusual line on the Middle East criticising the successive US administrations for waiting till the very end of their terms to move on the Palestine-Israel conflict.

The first African American nominee of his party would assure the voters – and the world -- he would get down to the business of Mideast peace from the word get-go.

By dispatching George Mitchell as his special envoy to the Middle East in his first week in White House, Obama seems to have fulfilled that promise. He is perhaps the first US president to do so.

What is most heartening about the latest of the Middle East peace initiatives is the genuine personal involvement and keenness of the young president for a breakthrough in an early phase of his term.

Given the US involvement in the region, especially its often unqualified support for Israel as well as its strategic relations with the Arab world, this commitment to peace is most welcome.

Indeed, given the unprecedented global support and goodwill he enjoys and his own unusual background that ties him to both the West and the Muslim world, this president has a historic opportunity to achieve something that eluded most of his predecessors – end the Mideast conflict and help the Palestinians find their homeland. Obama’s interview with Al Arabiya TV on Tuesday offers interesting insight into the new president’s thinking. Clearly, he is conscious of the fact that the Palestinian suffering has over the decades played a huge role in his country’s deteriorating relations with the Muslim world.

Hence the effort to reach out to the Muslim world in his inaugural address promising a ‘new way forward.’ For the first time yesterday, he talked of his Muslim roots and extended Muslim family in Kenya reminding the Muslims around the world America is not an enemy of Islam or Muslims. Hence the bold initiative of picking up former senator Mitchell, widely regarded for his contribution to the Northern Ireland peace process, as his eyes and ears in the Middle East.

It’s not as though Mitchell is the first special envoy to the Middle East. The region has witnessed a long parade of all sorts of envoys and peacemakers in the past. So what makes Mitchell different? And why should he succeed at something that failed numerous others?

Frankly, the success or failure of Mitchell’s mission does not depend on his diplomatic skills or efforts. It doesn’t even depend on Israel’s willingness to cooperate or its infamous intransigence. All said and done, it’s ultimately determined by a US president’s willingness to confront the Israelis persuading them to give up what does not belong to them.

We know that confronting Israel is easier said than done. Which is why no US president ever dared to do it. With the enormous power it enjoys in the US media and establishment, it can finish many a promising political career. But it’s not entirely impossible. If a US president is willing and courageous enough, he can tell Israel: Enough is enough. It’s time to behave. Is Obama willing enough?