A foreign policy question/hypothetical for the SDMB …
Lets take it as read that Israel and the Palestinians won’t resolve their differences before the US Presidential elections, and probably the next couple. So the incoming US administration will be faced with keeping this can of worms process headed in the right direction.One of the worrying things in the recent summit is Israel’s insistence on the USA being the moderator and the Palestinian preference for the United Nations to take this role. Israel is implacably opposed to the UN. The Palestinans seem comfortable enough to accept the US’s role, at this stage.
OK, now the next President team is going to be either Bush (who’d probably need to ask Daddy where the Middle East is) with VP Chaney (* with the Gulf War in his CV*) or "Gore (who probably claims he found the oil in the Middle East) and VP Lieberman (obviously, a Jew - let me hasten to add, I think Lieberman IMHO has been the really positive revelation of the campaign so far).
Would the Palestinians argue that the US administration/interests would be so compromised to favour the Israeli position they are not acceptable to be an unbiased moderator of the peace process? Is this likely to happen? If this happened, are the US interests in the Middle East marginalised? Would the US accept this? What would the US do about it? Who else could fill this role?
My apologies if this sounds like trolling (just a damn newbie learning the ropes), or the forum is incorrect.
