Obama's Statement on Middle East Envoy George Mitchell

Over the past two and a half years, George Mitchell has worked as a tireless advocate for peace as the U.S. Special Envoy for the Middle East. His deep commitment to resolving conflict and advancing democracy has contributed immeasurably to the goal of two states living side by side in peace and security.

George told me when he took this job that he would put in a couple of years, and I’m so glad he did. He is – by any measure – one of the finest public servants that our nation has ever had. Even though he already had an extraordinary legacy – serving the people of Maine, leading the Senate, and bringing peace to Northern Ireland – he took on the toughest job imaginable and worked grueling hours to advance the interests of the United States and the cause of peace.

As he returns to his family, George leaves behind a proud legacy of dedicated public service and the country owes him a debt of gratitude for his extraordinary commitment.

As a nation, we remain committed to peace in the Middle East and to building on George’s hard work and progress toward achieving this goal. Secretary Clinton has asked the Deputy Middle East Envoy, David Hale to serve as the Acting Envoy and I have every confidence in David’s ability to continue to make progress in this important effort.

Statement by Secretary Clinton on the Resignation of Middle East Envoy George Mitchell

It has been an honor to work alongside Senator Mitchell over the past two years. He represents the best traditions of American diplomacy. Throughout George’s distinguished career he has taken on the hardest challenges with determination, talent and old fashioned Maine common sense. From the Senate to Northern Ireland to the State Department, his work has brought peace and increasing prosperity to millions of people around the world and made our own country stronger and more secure.

As well as anyone in his generation, George understands the slow, hard work of diplomacy, the art of compromise and the indispensable role of American leadership in the world. All of us at the State Department will miss his steady leadership and wise counsel, and we will carry forward his commitment to pursue a comprehensive peace in the Middle East.

** NOTE: The following is the full text of Middle East Envoy George Mitchell’s resignation letter to the President.

“Dear Mr. President:

When I accepted your request to serve as U.S. Special Envoy for Middle East Peace my intention was to serve for two years. More than two years having passed I hereby resign, effective May 20, 2011. I trust this will provide sufficient time for an effective transition.
I strongly support your vision of comprehensive peace in the Middle East and thank you for giving me the opportunity to be part of your administration. It has been an honor for me to again serve our country.

With my gratitude and best wishes.”

PLO Agree to Indirect Peace Talks U.S. to Broker

Palestinian leaders on Saturday gave their backing for indirect peace talks with Israel, clearing the way for the Obama administration's first sustained on-the-ground Mideast peace effort.

U.S. envoy George Mitchell will now shuttle between the Israeli and Palestinian leaders for up to four months to try to narrow the vast gaps on the terms of Palestinian statehood.

Saturday's decision by the Palestine Liberation Organization's Executive Committee and the Fatah Central Committee was widely expected since Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has expressed interested in the indirect negotiations and already has received Arab League support.

PLO general secretary Yasser Abed Rabbo told reporters the Palestinians decided to engage Israel, even if indirectly, because of a number of U.S. assurances. NPR

Obama Meetup With Netanyahu and Abbas Sept. 22

Obama and Mahmoud Abbas. Below, Netanyahu

U.S. President Barack Obama will hold a joint meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday to help restart peace talks between the two sides, the White House said.

Obama, who will be in New York for the U.N. General Assembly next week, will meet with each leader separately before convening the joint session with them.

"These meetings will continue the efforts of President Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and Special Envoy George Mitchell to lay the groundwork for the re-launch of negotiations, and to create a positive context for those negotiations so that they can succeed," the statement said.

U.S. envoy Mitchell recently returned from a shuttle diplomacy trip to Jerusalem and Arab capitals.

"It is another sign of the President's deep commitment to comprehensive peace that he wants to personally engage at this juncture," Mitchell said in the White House statement. Haaretz

Middle East on Verge of Restarting Peace Talks

This is rather exciting news:

From the Guardian:

Obama has pencilled in the announcement of his breakthrough for either a meeting of world leaders at the UN general assembly in New York in the week beginning 23 September or the G20 summit in Pittsburgh on 24-25 September.

The president, who plans to make his announcement flanked by Netanyahu and the Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas – plus the leaders of as many Arab states as he can muster – hopes that a final peace agreement can be negotiated within two years, a timetable viewed as unrealistic by Middle East analysts.

Obama had hoped to unveil his plans before the start of Ramadan last weekend but failed to complete the deal with the Israelis or the Arab states in time. Read the whole thing

White House Press Briefing Aug. 20

Obama spoke with King Abdullah of Jordan today:

Obama Meets With Emir of Kuwait Video

The Emir wishes Obama a happy birthday (tomorrow).

Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Sabah told US President Barack Obama on Monday that Arab states will act on their peace initiative only once Israel "implements and fulfills its obligations."
"I affirmed to President Obama that we are interested in bringing about peace in the Middle East. It is in our interest that peace be brought about," the emir said through a translator as he met with Obama at the White House.
The visiting leader noted pan-Arab support for the initiative presented by Saudi Arabia in 2002 and stressed: "We will implement this peace initiative when Israel implements and fulfills its obligations."
The Arab peace initiative offers Israel full normalization of ties in return for its withdrawal from occupied Arab land and the creation of a Palestinian state. AFP

The Obama administration is launching a Middle East public relations campaign to push for peace:

“One of the public misimpressions is that it’s all been about settlements,” Mr. Mitchell, the administration’s special envoy to the Middle East, said in a rare interview Friday after six months on the job. “It is completely inaccurate to portray this as, ‘We’re only asking the Israelis to do things.’ We are asking everybody to do things.”

Another misperception, he said, was that Arab countries had rebuffed Mr. Obama’s request to make moves toward a more normal relationship with Israel — a perception fueled by a Saudi official’s blunt public rejection of such incremental steps in Washington on Friday.

“We’ve gotten, over all, a very good response, a desire to act, some public statements to that effect from the crown prince of Bahrain, the president of Egypt,” said Mr. Mitchell, who returned last week from his fifth trip to the region, including stops in Israel, Egypt and Syria. Saudi Arabia’s negative public comments, other officials said, bear little relation to what it is saying in private.

In coming weeks, senior administration officials said, the White House will begin a public-relations campaign in Israel and Arab countries to better explain Mr. Obama’s plans for a comprehensive peace agreement involving Israel, the Palestinians and the Arab world. Read more at the NYT

Obama's Middle East Welcome

Time: As President Barack Obama's new Middle East envoy held talks with Egyptian leaders across town on Wednesday, students at Cairo University were offering up their views of the new American President — and the very mention of his name brought warm smiles and delight in their eyes. They like Obama. Even Omar Youssef, 20, who earlier this month had joined angry protests, tinged with anti-American sentiment, against Israel's war in Gaza, is impressed by what he's heard about Obama thus far. "He's a man of diplomacy and speaks well," Youssef explains, standing around the corner from Egyptian security vehicles crammed with riot police in case more protests erupt. "Bush, Arab people hate him. But the world needs a man like Obama." (See pictures of people around the world watching Obama's Inauguration.)

What George Mitchell, Obama's Mideast peacemaker, brings to the table:

Obama's TV Interview With Al-Arabiya Airs Tonight

Updated with video below.
Obama does some more reaching out. It's doubtful if in 8 years Bush ever did an interview on Arabic-language TV. I could be wrong.
If Obama could reach the Muslim world and let them know that the U.S. doesn't intend to conquer, that could go a long way toward defanging the terrorists, or at least helping to keep new ones from being made.
Al-Arabiya is based in Dubai. Check it out here.

ABC: President Obama has sat for his first formal TV interview with the Arabic cable TV network Al-Arabiya, ABC News has learned.

The interview was taped this evening and is set to air at 11 pm ET, as Mitchell is in the air and on his way to the region.

Al-Arabiya is a moderate voice in the Arab world.
This interview has caused the Obama haters to go into high freakout mode. Here's an excerpt of the interview from a Politico story:

Obama also signaled a move away from President Bush's confrontational, generalizing language. Melhem noted to Obama that "President Bush framed the war on terror conceptually in a way that was very broad, 'war on terror,' and used sometimes certain terminology that the many people -- Islamic fascism. You've always framed it in a different way, specifically against one group called al Qaeda and their collaborators."

"I think that you're making a very important point. And that is that the language we use matters," Obama replied. "[W]hat we need to understand is, is that there are extremist organizations -- whether Muslim or any other faith in the past -- that will use faith as a justification for violence. We cannot paint with a broad brush a faith as a consequence of the violence that is done in that faith's name.

"And so you will I think see our administration be very clear in distinguishing between organizations like al Qaeda -- that espouse violence, espouse terror and act on it -- and people who may disagree with my administration and certain actions, or may have a particular viewpoint in terms of how their countries should develop," he said. "We can have legitimate disagreements but still be respectful. I cannot respect terrorist organizations that would kill innocent civilians and we will hunt them down."

Obama's shift Monday was one of tone, not of policy, and he also affirmed America's support for Israel.

"Israel is a strong ally of the United States. They will not stop being a strong ally of the United States. And I will continue to believe that Israel's security is paramount," he said. "But I also believe that there are Israelis who recognize that it is important to achieve peace. They will be willing to make sacrifices if the time is appropriate and if there is serious partnership on the other side."

Part 2

Some analysis by CNN after part of the interview:

Peacemaker George Mitchell Headed to Israel

Bloomberg: President Barack Obama is sending George Mitchell, his Middle East envoy, to the troubled region this week as the new U.S. administration seeks to broker peace between Israel and the Palestinians, a White House adviser said.

Mitchell is charged with the immediate task of facilitating a lasting cease-fire between Israel and the Palestinian militant Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip. The former Senate Democratic leader will probably leave Washington tomorrow, according to the adviser, who asked not to be identified.

Obama has pledged to renew the U.S.’s broader commitment to the peace process, including a separate Palestinian state alongside Israel.

Mitchell, who has negotiating authority in his role as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s top diplomat for Mideast peace, is set to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Jan. 28, the Associated Press reported, citing an Israeli foreign ministry official it didn’t name.

Saudi Prince Says Mitchell Needs to Pitch a Tent

In this story, there is a sense of frustration with the U.S. and yet, an optimism that maybe this time will be different.

CNN: "We've heard this before," al-Faisal said. "We need to see implementation. We need to see facts on the ground change. We need to see rhetoric change. We need to see presence on the ground."

He said he was encouraged by Obama's appointment of George Mitchell as Mideast envoy, saying, "Mitchell comes with a track record of success." But he suggested Mitchell spend some time in the region to make real progress.

"American envoys, when they've dealt with the Middle East, have always come and gone," he said.

"I think it would be wise for Sen. Mitchell ... to pitch his tent in Ramallah or in Jerusalem, let's say, and spend a year, two, perhaps three years on the ground dealing with the daily aspects of making peace there."

Hillary, Holbrooke, Mitchell and Peacemaking

Richard Holbrooke and George Mitchell are about to renew the peacemaking efforts in Afghanistan/Pakistan and Israel/Middle East, respectively. WorldFocus roundtable discusses Middle East Peace prospects, Guantanamo and China.

Obama Picks Mitchell and Holbrooke to Represent

Swamp: Trying to make good on the promise of his campaign and inauguration speech to raise diplomacy's role in U.S. foreign policy, President Obama visited the State Department on his second full day in office where he proclaimed a "new era of American leadership" in international affairs.

The president joined Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the State Department for the announcement of the new administration's emissaries to two of the world's most troubled regions. Former Sen. George Mitchell was named the administration's special envoy to Israel and the Palestinian Authority while Amb. Richard Holbrooke will become special representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan.

"My appearance today... underscores my commitment to the importance of diplomacy in renewing American leadership," Obama told an audience filled with career foreign service officials. "...Let there be no doubt about America's commitment to lead. We can no longer afford drift, and we can no longer afford delay, nor can we cede ground to those who seek destruction."

Obama askes Israel to open borders with Gaza:

Aljazeera: Barack Obama, the US president, has called on Israel to open its borders with Gaza to humanitarian aid and commerce in his first public remarks on the crisis there since becoming president.

Obama, who said he was deeply concerned about the loss of life in Gaza, also reiterated the US view that Israel had a right to defend itself from Palestinian rocket attacks.

"Now we must extend a hand of opportunity to those who seek peace, as part of a lasting ceasefire, Gaza's border crossings should be open to allow the flow of aid and commerce," Obama said.
The US leader was speaking at the state department as he named George Mitchell, former peace negotiator in Northern Ireland, as US special envoy for the Middle East.

Obama also reiterated the US backing for international demands made of the Hamas movement - that it recognise Israel, end violence and agree to recognise previous peace agreements with Israel.

He said the US would support efforts to end weapons smuggling across the Gaza border from Egypt.

However, he called for a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza following its offensive, and said the US would provide humanitarian and economic assistance to the millions of Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip.

Osama Hamdan, a Hamas spokesman, told Al Jazeera Obama's remarks seemed to show that the US viewed the situation through "Israeli eyes".

The devastation in Gaza is said to be shocking:

MSNBC: Opening a five-day trip to the region, U.N. humanitarian chief John Holmes called the steep Palestinian casualty toll from Israel's offensive "extremely shocking" and suggested the United Nations might ask Israel to compensate it for wartime damage to U.N. compounds in Gaza. Hundreds of tons of humanitarian aid were destroyed by Israeli shelling that struck the main U.N. compound.

Mitchell says peace in the Middle East is possible. 
Here's Holbrooke talking in November about how to approach Afghanistan and Russia:

Obama envoy announcement transcript.