Special Envoy for Middle East Peace On Lessons Learned From Previous Failed Attempts

Former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell, D-Maine, President Obama’s US Special Envoy for Middle East Peace, briefed reporters earlier today on the kick-off of direct peace talks between the Israelis and the Palestinians, the goal of which is a two-state solution “with security and dignity for both Israelis and Palestinians,” Mitchell said.

Tomorrow President Obama will hold bilateral meetings with: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, King Abdullah II, King of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. After the meetings, President Obama will make a public statement. All of the leaders are invited to a White House dinner, before which they will all be invited to make public statements. On Thursday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will hold meetings with all of the leaders at the State Department.

After September 2, Mitchell says he hopes to “proceed promptly on an intensive basis with the parties.” Netanyahu hopes to meet with Abbas roughly every two weeks, Mitchell said.

There is a timeframe of one year for these talks, Mitchell said. Netanyahu has publicly said he could do these talks within one year and Abbas has said privately that he doesn’t want to drag out the direct negotiations.

Mitchell indicated he’d studied the myriad previous failed attempts to broker a peace agreement between the Israelis and Palestinians and said there were four main lessons:

1. “Frequent, direct contact between the leaders”;
2. “Active, sustained participation” by the U.S.;
3. “Broad international support” – which is why when Mitchell went to the region he would generally stop to visit with European and other leaders, and why Tony Blair – the Envoy to the Region from the Quartet (US, United Nations, European Union, and Russian Federation) – will be part of these talks;
4. Efforts to create an atmosphere conducive to success, which is not always easy with countries that have a free and vigorous press that can sensationalize conflict. Mitchell seemed to be underlining here the need for participants to keep their mouths shut.

Some of the other issues discussed:

Israeli Settlements

Mitchell was asked about the expiration date of the Israeli settlement freeze, rapidly approaching on September 26. Had he been assured by the Israelis that the moratorium on new housing in disputed territories would continue if talks were continuing? Mitchell dodged the question, saying that the position of the US on settlements is clear and unchanged, and that the US has conveyed that it expects all parties to behave in ways that are “conducive” to the peace process continuing.

Arab Skepticism

What about skepticism in the region that these talks will bear fruit? Mitchell referred to a Zogby poll that had been shared with him by Shibley Telhami, with whom he regularly consults. (Telhami is a nonresident senior fellow in the Saban Center for Middle East Policy and a former advisor to the U.S. Mission to the United Nations.) The poll of residents of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Morocco, Lebanon and the UAE indicates that more than 80% of Arabs are still in principle open to the idea of a two-state solution; that a plurality believes a two-state solution would only happen through negotiations (with 16% thinking it would come through war or conflict): and a majority believing that peace talks collapsing would prompt an intense conflict for years to come.

Mitchell called this a “moment in time” that needs to be seized and “as difficult as it may be for both leaders, the alternative for them and members of their societies poses far greater difficulties and far great problems in the future.”

Hamas Non-Participation; Comparison With IRA

Though Hamas controls Gaza, the US does “not expect Hamas to play a role in this immediate process,” he said, “but we welcome the full participation of Hamas and all relevant parties” if they comply with commitments to democracy and non-violence that are a pre-requisite.

It was more than a decade ago when Mitchell helped bring peace to Northern Ireland peace as US Special Envoy for Northern Ireland, chairing the all-party peace negotiations that led to the Belfast Peace Agreement. Mitchell said some critics note that Sinn Fein – the political arm of the IRA – participated in those talks and wonder why then Hamas isn’t involved in these talks.

“They’re very different,” Mitchell said, “and it’s not useful to try to make direct comparisons.”

But that said, Mitchell noted that Sinn Fein “did not enter negotiations until 15 months had elapsed.”

Moreover, Sinn Fein met two central conditions before joining the peace talks: a cease fire and publicly stating their commitments to what were called the “Mitchell Principles.” Those six principles include a commitment to “democratic and exclusively peaceful means of resolving political issues,” Mitchell said today, and agreeing “to renounce for themselves, and to oppose any effort by others, to use force, or threaten to use force, to influence the course or the outcome of all-party negotiations.”

President Obama Commitment

In addition to his direct involvement tomorrow, President Obama has been on top of this peace process from the very beginning, Mitchell insisted, noting that the first phone calls to international leaders that President Obama made, on January 21, 2009, were to Abbas, Mubarak, King Abdullah and then-Israel Prime Minister Ehud Ohlmert, and that President Obama announced his – Mitchell’s – appointment the very next day.

-Jake Tapper