U.S. loses Mideast influence

The Spokesman-Review articles on yet another attempt by yet another U.S. secretary of state to broker a “peace” agreement between Arabs and Israelis deserve clarification.

No external pressure by any president, over the past 65 years, has been able to secure peace because of the following:

1) Arabs, other than Egypt’s President Anwar Sadat (assassinated by the Muslim Brotherhood), refuse to recognize Israel’s right to exist.

2) Arabs, in 1948, declined formation of a neighboring Palestinian state when Israel was created by United Nations mandate.

3) Arabs lack elected representatives (other than the terrorist group Hamas in Gaza) who can sign and abide by formal governmental treaties.

4) This administration has little regional credibility; experts describe the emergence of Saudi Arabia, Iran and Russia as the new power brokers in the absence of U.S. influence.

5) This president’s Middle East foreign policy lacks bipartisan congressional support, thus leading to mixed political and military signals to our allies and adversaries.

Peace in the Middle East will come from those who live and die there, not from an elite American politician vacationing in Maui or Martha’s Vineyard. Ask any civilian victim of the so-called “Arab Spring.”

Joseph Harari

Spokane