Archive for the ‘Views from America and Europe’ Category
April 13th, 2010 | 
Author: Obama and Netanyahu can’t afford to disagree
By David Makovsky
It is widely known that the poor relationship between U.S. President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stands at the center of U.S.-Israeli tension.
Yet, it is hard to be hopeful for a variety of reasons. They relate to differences of outlook between them in three key areas: the relationship between vision and trust, different attitudes toward timing and different approaches to the nexus between policy and politics.
First, there is a paradox between vision and trust. For cerebral Obama, who does not bond with foreign leaders instinctively, the one way to build trust is to share a common strategic vision.
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David’s interview with BBC yesterday, commenting on PM Netanyahu’s announcement of a 10 month settlement freeze in the West Bank and the U.S. response to that announcement by George Mitchell, can be watched at:
http://mms.tveyes.com/MediaCenter/20230/390287.6233/BBC24_11-25-2009_20.33.44.wmv.
Obama and Netanyahu: Lessons of 2009
by David Makovsky
WASHINGTON – The announcement of a moratorium on building in the settlements ends the first chapter of U.S.-Israel relations during the Obama era. There are lessons for all.
The move by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is clearly a bid to improve U.S.-Israel relations as much as it is an effort to restart negotiations with the Palestinians. It may also be a counterbalance toward Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, against a potential prisoner swap with Hamas for Gilad Shalit.
What Shapes Sanctions
Our next Iran policy emerges.
By David Makovsky
The announcement that Iran has been constructing a covert facility to enrich nuclear fuel for the last few years without notifying the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) raises the stakes for the upcoming October 1 meeting of six leading countries with Iran. The underground facility is located on an Iranian Revolutionary Guard base outside the religious city of Qom.
KCBS News Interviews and Analysis
September 22nd, 2009
Middle East Peace Talks
David Makovsky of the Washington Institute for Near-East Policy discusses President Obama’s meeting with Israel’s prime minister and the Palestinian president today.
To listen to the full audio interview click here
Obama Says Israel, Palestinians Must Act With Urgency
At the start of his first joint meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Obama said his special envoy, George Mitchell, will meet with Palestinian and Israeli negotiators next week. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will report on the status of those efforts next month, he said in New York.
By Kate Andersen Brower and Jonathan Ferziger
September 22nd, 2009
David Makovsky, a fellow at the Washington Institute of Near East Policy, said the three-way meeting is a “good first step.”
“You obviously cannot have negotiations unless you can get Netanyahu and Abbas in the same room. With the ice broken, hopefully the diplomatic thaw is now possible,” said Makovsky, co-author of a book on Middle East peacemaking with Obama’s senior adviser on the region, Dennis Ross.