Ambassador
James B. Cunningham

Biography

Speeches

Remarks
Ambassador James B. Cunningham
Ambassador’s Forum at Ben Gurion University
Co-sponsored by the Chaim Herzog Center for Middle East Studies and Diplomacy and the Centre for the Study of European Politics & Society
November 10, 2009

“President Obama’s Middle East Policy”

Thank you, Professor Carmi.  It is a pleasure to be back here at Ben Gurion University.  I want to thank you and Professor Newman for inviting me to speak here today.  I want to thank Professors  Meital and Pardo for joining us on the panel as well.

Both of the research centers which are hosting me today, the Chaim Herzog Center for Middle East Studies and Diplomacy and the Centre for the Study of European Politics and Society, were founded on the idea that Israel should be prepared to take its rightful place both as a part of the Middle East and a member of the International community.  The Centers each work to establish ties with academic institutions throughout the world to develop innovative solutions to the challenges facing Israel, and the world. 

This is similar to the approach of President Obama, who has called for new approaches and new ideas to meet the enduring challenges we face.  This is especially true in the Middle East, where President Obama has called for Israelis, Palestinians and all the peoples of the Middle East to work together for real peace, for urgent peace.  In his video address to the “Facing Tomorrow” conference a couple of weeks ago, the President asserted that “we cannot meet the tests of our time unless we meet them together.”  For too many long and frustrating years, building peace in the Middle East has been seen as a win-lose prospect, instead of what it must be  - if it is to succeed – a process of working together to build a better future for the people of this region.

That is also why the President stresses that the problems we face are interconnected, and therefore the solutions must be interconnected as well.   In the 21st century, no nation can address the threats to its security and wellbeing in isolation.  Transnational threats such as terror, proliferation, pandemic disease, and climate change ignore national boundaries. 

The incoming Obama administration confronted perhaps the most daunting set of challenges to the United States, and indeed to much of the world, since at least World War II:  A global economic and financial crisis, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the danger posed by Iran, and the global threat of terror and extremism to the values embodied in the Charter of the United Nations.

More than any other country in the world, the United States is faced with trying to stabilize an arc of crisis that reaches from the India-Pakistan border through the Gulf and the Middle East.  Dealing with these urgent challenges requires an ambitious approach, and American leadership and commitment.  Very importantly, success will require partnership and cooperation from those who share our values, and who are dedicated to a better future for our peoples.

We don’t have any illusions about the difficulty of dealing with this, but this administration does have a sense of urgency.  We can see where events are headed if the world’s leaders accept the status quo, and if they decline to take responsibility and decline to take difficult decisions.  There is the danger that too many will choose to do business as usual, instead of working together, and with this administration, for the  lasting change that today’s challenges demand.

That is the spirit that informs the President’s approach to this region.  Ambition, commitment, partnership, realism, and responsibility.  In this part of the world, Iran’s nuclear weapons program and the challenge posed by extremism threaten all of us.  The conclusion of peace between Israel, the Palestinians and the Arab world would have a global impact, help stabilize the Middle East, ensure Israel’s security, and finally grant Israel the recognition it deserves.  So it is no coincidence that the President appointed Senator Mitchell as his Special Envoy on his second day in office.  Since the earliest days of the Obama administration, when the Senator arrived here, the United States has been trying with Israel, the Palestinians and the Arab world to create an environment in which peace negotiations can resume and actually succeed.

We have sought over the past months to find the right context for the resumption of negotiations.  We have tried to create a context for success through actions by Israel, the Palestinians and Arabs to promote the prospects to resume talks.  As we have all seen, this has proved to be very difficult.  There is a huge amount of suspicion and mistrust on all sides and the history is exceedingly difficult to overcome.  But in the real sense that is what we need to do to overcome history if we are going to focus on the future.

We want to focus on the real objective, which is getting into final status negotiations.  We must move beyond talking about talks and get to the hard work of addressing the core issues that separate Israelis and Palestinians.  When Secretary Clinton was here last week, she told both sides they need to do more to advance the prospects for peace and for achieving a two state solution. 

We believe that peace is in Israel's deep national interest, as it is in the interests of my country and of Palestinians and the Arab world and the entire international community.  We cannot believe that the status quo is sustainable.  Time is not on our side.  As the President told the UN General Assembly in September the U.S. goal on this process is clear:  An agreement on two states, a secure Jewish state of Israel and a viable, independent, and contiguous Palestine, living side by side in peace and security that ends the occupation that began in 1967 and unleashes the potential of the Palestinian people.  This, we believe, is the outcome which will open the way to stability and progress in this region, and to the better future that Israelis, Palestinians, and Arabs seek.     

The time has come to re-launch negotiations without preconditions on the core issues of the conflict -- security for both Israelis and Palestinians, borders, refugees, and Jerusalem.  The United States is encouraging a serious and sustained effort to end the conflict.  We are eager to support the difficult decisions which must be made, and the risks which must be run, if peace is to come.

At the heart of the President’s Middle East policy is the idea that the relationship between Israel and the United States is, as he said at the beginning of President Peres’ Conference, a “bond that is much more than a strategic alliance.”  America will stand firm on our commitment to Israel as a secure, democratic and prosperous Jewish state and recent polling in the United States shows that my country’s commitment to Israel is substantial and firm.

The creation of a stable Palestinian state, one that becomes a state that can live with Israel in peace, security and prosperity, is also necessary.  The United States, Quartet representative, Tony Blair, and many members of the international community are supportive in the development of the infrastructure and the capacity of the Palestinian Authority requires.    The Palestinian Authority, under the leadership of President Abbas and Prime Minister Fayyad, has made important progress towards achieving these goals, and we will continue to support the important work toward them.    We respect the leadership of the Palestinian Authority.  There is quite a bit of turmoil going on with that leadership as we have seen in recent days.  We hope that that situation will be resolved in a way that will allow all of us to move forward.

On Election Day 2008, I predicted that President Obama would be a good friend to Israel.  A year later, according to the polls here there is some doubt in Israel about that proposition.  It is certainly true, we have some differences to resolve, as even the closest of friends among nations always have.  But to those who doubt, I would argue that in word and deed, the President stands by Israel as its closest friend, and will continue to do so.   

The President has made the pursuit of peace in the Middle East a top priority, in the firm belief that now is the time to act decisively to change the dynamics of this region and to ensure security for Israel and its neighbors.

In his historic speech in Cairo, standing before the Muslim world, the President told his audience that America’s bond with Israel is unbreakable, that attempts to deny the Holocaust or delegitimize Israel must stop, and that the entire world must accept the rights of the Jews to live in their homeland.

President Obama took office just as Operation Cast Lead was ending.  He has been firm that Israel has the right to defend itself, that terror stemming from Hamas in Gaza must stop, and that a durable ceasefire should be put in place.
   
In response to concerns here, the administration has made prominent its recognition of Israel as a Jewish State.  We are developing an improved high level dialogue on Israel’s defense capabilities and on the threats it faces.  More than ever, under President Obama our two countries are discussing the threat posed by Iran, the implications for the region, and the steps the international community should take to counter that threat.   

Our bond with Israel has also been clearly demonstrated in our opposition to efforts to de-legitimize Israel internationally and to ensure that Israel is treated fairly in the United Nations, as we are doing in the matter of the Goldstone report.   From the inception of the Goldstone Commission, we objected to its flawed mandate.  We stated our concerns about the report clearly and repeatedly, including the unbalanced focus on Israel, the excessively negative inferences it draws about Israel’s intentions and actions, the overly broad scope of its recommendations, its failure to address the asymmetrical nature of the conflict, its sweeping conclusions of law, and its failure to assign appropriate responsibility to Hamas for its decision to base itself and its operations in heavily civilian-populated urban areas.

We led the opposition to its endorsement by the Human Rights Council in Geneva, and will continue to reject efforts to use the report to undercut Israel’s legitimacy and its right to self defense.  At last week’s debate at the UN General Assembly, we remained firm in our opposition to the resolution.  Seventeen other countries joined us in opposing the resolution, and 44 countries abstained.  This is a very important bloc in the UN context, a vote of no-confidence.  In large part that was due to American efforts.  Going back through 2005, and the over 100 Israel-related votes in the General Assembly, the 18 ‘no’ votes on this resolution was the most there had been for a resolution dealing with Israel.  We will continue to reject attempts to use the report to attack Israel.  Israel is a strong democracy with independent institutions capable of addressing allegations through credible domestic processes, and we have encouraged it to do so.


These are the realities of this administration’s support for Israel and the concrete expressions of our commitment.   

We are working with Israel to achieve the long-term strategic interest we share in a Middle East that is safe and prosperous for all its residents. This means dealing with Iran and Islamic extremism.  Last week, the Israeli Navy successfully intercepted a large supply of weapons from Iran, which included three-quarters as many rockets as were fired at Israel from Lebanon in 2006.  A discovery like this underscores the dangers Israel is facing, and the need to continue to be vigilant in working to blunt the impact of extremism in the region, including Hizballah and Hamas.  We are also determined to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.  Iran can live up to its international obligations and enjoy all the benefits that come with being a responsible member of the international community, or it can face increased isolation and pressure.

We are seeking to clarify that choice for Iran, to make it clear that it cannot escape making that choice.  So we will see if engagement is able to produce the concrete results we need, and we'll be prepared to increase the pressure if it does not.  No options are off the table.

The pursuit of a just and secure solution to the conflict in the Middle East is worthwhile on its own merits.  It is the path for real security for Israel.  And the global ripples emanating from a solution would enhance the prospects for progress in other conflicts that are underway now and still others that are in their infancy.
   
Just as the rewards of peace are great, so, too, are the consequences for failing to seize the opportunity to work together to achieve a brighter future.  And as the President works to advance the cause of peace and to respond to the other crisis that I mentioned earlier, we will strengthen the unshakeable bond between the United States and Israel that has endured for more than 60 years. 

Thank you very much.