Samuel R. Berger

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MundoOriente Próximo,

There is a notion cultivated by opponents of the Iran nuclear agreement, attractive to members of Congress under intense pressure to vote no, that congressional rejection of the agreement will enable U.S. negotiators to reach a better deal. The expectation is, that with a further turn of the screws, we can pressure the Iranians to give more and/or we give less. But it can’t happen.

The agreement needs to be judged on its merits, and the consequences of rejecting it need to be confronted without the illusion that there will be another, easier chance. Opponents cannot escape through a trapdoor marked “later.”…  Seguir leyendo »

Demonstrators hold up anti-war banners as thousands of Israelis protest during a left-wing peace rally in the coastal city of Tel Aviv calling for the Israeli government to negotiate with the Palestinian Authority on August 16, 2014. Israeli and Palestinian negotiators are poised to resume indirect talks with Egyptian mediators on reaching a more permanent ceasefire before a current truce expires at midnight on August 18. (Gali Tibbon/AFP/Getty Images)

MundoOriente Próximo,

A fragile cease-fire has temporarily stopped the violence in Gaza, and Israeli and Palestinian delegations have made efforts to negotiate a more permanent resolution. The only way they can succeed is to let the Palestinian Authority and its security forces back into Gaza.

The Hamas terrorist organization forced the PA out of Gaza in 2007. But in the West Bank, the PA’s security forces have proved relatively effective in maintaining security. There has been good cooperation with Israeli security forces, and considerable progress has been made in building the governmental institutions of a potential Palestinian state.

By contrast, Hamas’s rule in Gaza has been disastrous for its people — producing economic failure, brutal governance, human hardship, little hope and three wars with Israel in six years.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoOriente Próximo, ,

The Syrian regime’s unwillingness to seriously engage in Geneva makes clear that a parallel effort must be taken to shift the regime’s calculations and to allow the United States and the moderate opposition to return to negotiations in a better position. That is the only way this brutal war will stop.

Events in Homs illustrate the depravity of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s strategy of misery. But the conflict has taken on an ominous security dimension for the United States in recent months. Assad’s intensified assault, including his unrelenting bombardment of the more moderate elements of Syria’s opposition, has created a vacuum that is being filled by jihadist groups, who are also a threat to us.…  Seguir leyendo »