Copyright 2009 Middle East Forum Mon, 02 Nov 2009 21:03:49 -0500 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Obama Mideast Monitor http://www.meforum.org/blog/obama-mideast-monitor webmaster@meforum.org (Middle East Forum) webmaster@meforum.org en-us http://www.meforum.org/blog/obama-mideast-monitor/2009/11/j-street-allied-to-goldstone Mon, 2 Nov 2009 21:03:20 EST I haven't posted for a while, but this is remarkable. Michael Goldfarb at the Weekly Standard discovered ("J Street Adviser Morton Halperin Goes to Work for Goldstone") that a letter purportedly written by Judge Richard Goldstone to criticize a House of http://www.meforum.org/blog/obama-mideast-monitor/2009/08/progress-on-settlements-compromise Thu, 27 Aug 2009 09:31:06 EST One of the essential elements of a workable compromise on the settlement issue that has roiled Obama's relations with Netanyahu seems to be in the works. The Administration apparently recognizes that it made a mistake lumping construction inside the http://www.meforum.org/blog/obama-mideast-monitor/2009/08/settlement-freeze-talks-accelerating Sun, 16 Aug 2009 09:00:00 EST The effort to close the gaps between the Israeli and American positions on the terms of a settlement freeze are accelerating. Netanyahu's top negotiator, Yitzhak Molcho, arrives in Washington Monday, to prepare for the Netanyahu/Mitchell meeting planned http://www.meforum.org/blog/obama-mideast-monitor/2009/08/will-netanyahu-mitchell-meeting-be-postponed-again Wed, 12 Aug 2009 01:02:11 EST The Netanyahu-Mitchell meeting already postponed twice--first in late June, and again late in July, is now planned for August 26 in London. But the two sides still have significant gaps on the terms of a settlement freeze, and I am hearing that another http://www.meforum.org/blog/obama-mideast-monitor/2009/08/the-morning-after-a-temporary-settlements-freeze Mon, 3 Aug 2009 22:53:00 EST If Netanyahu did accept a temporary settlements freeze for a period of six or nine months, imposing limits on new construction stricter than those accepted by Ariel Sharon, would the Obama Administration make the reciprocal concession to Israel, that at http://www.meforum.org/blog/obama-mideast-monitor/2009/07/the-left-vs-the-center-on-the-obama-mideast-team Fri, 31 Jul 2009 09:47:00 EST A lively debate has erupted inside and outside the Obama Administration about the wisdom of Obama's decision to confront Netanyahu on settlements. The New York Times commends Obama and rejects compromises proposed by Netanyahu as "a weak offer." But the http://www.meforum.org/blog/obama-mideast-monitor/2009/07/nyt-mag-obama-will-accept-a-nuclear-armed-iran Thu, 30 Jul 2009 20:36:16 EST An article coming Sunday in the New York Times Magazine, based on extensive interviews with members of the Obama Mideast team, predicts that, in the end, the Administration will accept a nuclear-armed Iran. Roger Cohen reports that, "What Obama's precise http://www.meforum.org/blog/obama-mideast-monitor/2009/07/jones-ross-to-israel-reset Wed, 22 Jul 2009 08:44:00 EST Ha'aretz reports that, "Next Wednesday, a senior U.S. delegation led by National Security Adviser James Jones will arrive in Israel. He will be accompanied by President Barack Obama's special Mideast adviser, Dennis Ross, who recently served as Clinton's http://www.meforum.org/blog/obama-mideast-monitor/2009/06/abrams-israel-is-right-that-there-were-settlement-agreements Thu, 25 Jun 2009 10:44:00 EST Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is denying that there were understandings between the Bush Administration and the Sharon and Olmert governments that limited natural growth of settlements but permitted some construction within agreed constraints. She http://www.meforum.org/blog/obama-mideast-monitor/2009/06/kurtzer-denies-there-was-an-agreement-on-settlements Sun, 14 Jun 2009 09:02:00 EST The fog surrounding informal understandings between the Bush Administration and the then-government of Israel over growth of settlements deepened today. Daniel Kurtzer, who was U.S. Ambassador to Israel from 2001-2005 and played a role in part of the http://www.meforum.org/blog/obama-mideast-monitor/2009/06/jewish-left-shaped-obama-on-settlements Sat, 13 Jun 2009 07:45:53 EST The Washington Post examined the roots of Obama's hard line on settlements, and concluded that it reflects the influence of Jewish friends on the left prior to entering the White House. "Several senior White House officials described the president's http://www.meforum.org/blog/obama-mideast-monitor/2009/06/there-was-a-bush-agreement-on-settlements Sat, 6 Jun 2009 18:04:00 EST Secretary of State Clinton denied on Friday (June 5) that the George W. Bush Administration left to its successors a set of understandings with the government of Israel about limited growth of settlements. "With respect to the conditions regarding http://www.meforum.org/blog/obama-mideast-monitor/2009/05/rahm-emanuel-as-a-dove Tue, 26 May 2009 12:50:16 EST Newsweek profiles Rahm Emanuel as a dove on Israel issues. http://www.meforum.org/blog/obama-mideast-monitor/2009/05/netanyahu-only-israel-will-stop-iran-threat Tue, 26 May 2009 00:03:49 EST If Israel does not eliminate the Iranian threat, no one will, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday. "Israel is not like other countries. We are faced with security challenges that no other country faces, and our need to provide a response to http://www.meforum.org/blog/obama-mideast-monitor/2009/05/mullen-time-for-iran-diplomacy-running-out Mon, 25 May 2009 14:55:48 EST Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, warned that Iran is close to obtaining nuclear weapons. "Most of us believe that it's one to three years, depending on assumptions about where they are right now. But they are moving closer,