Bush loses road map; refuses to ask for directions

Remember the road map? Not the Rand McNally under your driver's seat with the sun-bleached cover and tattered pages; I'm talking about the 2003 plan by the quartet (Russia - bass, U.S - baritone., E.U. - tenor I, U.N. - tenor II) that was supposed to tame that languishing, 50-year-old beast known as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Despite the Bush Administration's last-ditch attempt to claim some kind of progress in negotiations, the reality is that both sides, Israel and the Palestinian Authority, have fallen short of their promised obligations. Israel continues to build new settlements, and the Palestinian leadership is unable to stop terrorism. Both sides need to be held accountable, and the way to make that happen is to impose either incentives or consequences on both parties. Right now, Israel basically does whatever it wants, arguing for the right to defend itself in the face of rocket attacks by Hamas and Islamic Jihad. But Israel's actions, both by continuing settlement expansion and constant "collective punishment" meted out to Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank also play a part in prolonging the conflict. Israel, much like the Bush Administration on Iran, refuses to negotiate with Hamas if stated preconditions are not met, in this case the end of all terrorist attacks on Israeli citizens and a recognition of Israel's right to exist. While I personally think that Israel does have the right to exist, the only way to get Hamas to change its position is through engagement and negotiation, in order to achieve something like Egypt's recognition of Israel as part of their 1979 peace treaty. Instead of negotiating, Israel cuts off food and fuel supplies to Gaza, which only makes Palestinians more determined to strike back.

I want a president who is willing not just to placate both sides like Bush, but to openly criticize Israel and Palestine when they fall short of commitments. We need incentives and consequences in place for both sides; U.S. foreign aid is a good place to start. Israel has long been the largest beneficiary of U.S. foreign aid; it currently receives over $2.5 billion a year in primarily military aid, which is now scheduled to gradually increase to $3 billion per year within a decade. This dwarfs all other foreign contributions (except Iraq), but aid to the West Bank-Gaza didn't even make the top 15 (it did in 1995). The Administration requested $77 million for the Palestinian Territories for fiscal year 2008, about 3% of the Israeli figure (which consists mostly of military aid anyway). We've learned in Iraq that throwing money at people can make them switch sides fairly quickly; why not invest in Palestine and build some political capital?

No more bending over to AIPAC. No more fear of being "soft" on Israel. I want a president who is willing to challenge the status quo and not back down when either side falls short of its commitment. I am desperately pro-Israel; that is, I want to ensure the survival of the State of Israel. The only way to guarantee that is through peace.