Ambassador
James B. Cunningham

Biography

Speeches

U.S. Ambassador James B. Cunningham
International Forum
U.S. Foreign Policy in the Middle East:  One Year into the Obama Presidency

Tel Aviv University
Institute for Diplomacy and Regional Studies
November 4, 2009

U.S. Ambassador James B. Cunningham - Tel Aviv University (Photo Credit: Matty Stern/U.S. embassy Tel Aviv

Thank you, Dr. Rabi, for your introduction.  I want to thank Miriam Ben Haim also for welcoming us today.  Thank you to my Ambassadorial colleagues
for joining us , and thanks to all of you for having me here today. 

Since 2004, the S. Daniel Abraham Center for International and Regional Studies has been doing important work in promoting innovative research, and its regional and cross-regional approach serve as a model for addressing the global challenges of the 21st century. 

Like this institute and the people here, President Obama has called for finding new ways to meet these challenges, with new approaches and new ideas.  He has focused on forging new partnerships, always emphasizing, as he said in his video address to the “Facing Tomorrow” conference, “that we cannot meet the tests of our time unless we meet them together.”  The President’s Middle East policy reflects that same spirit, asking Israel, the Palestinians, and the region to work together for real peace, for urgent peace.   For too many long and frustrating years – you know better than I - building peace in the Middle East has been seen as a win-lose prospect, instead of what it must be if it is going to succeed – a process of working together to build a better future for the people of this region, and their children.

It is almost ten months since the President’s inauguration.  Let me remind you of the context for our efforts in the Middle East.  In the 21st century, no nation can address threats to its security and wellbeing in isolation, not even my country.  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 faced by any American President and by much of the world since at least World War II:  A global economic 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 that we all support and aspire to.

The United States more than any other country in the world, 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, new ideas, and American leadership and commitment.  Very importantly, success will require partnership and the cooperation of those who share our values and objectives, and who are dedicated to a better future for our peoples.

We have no illusions about the difficulties of achieving 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.

 This is the spirit of a new administration and a new President and of President Obama’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 threatens 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 few months to find the right context for the resumption of negotiations.  Progress has been made, but the issues are difficult and the history and mistrust is exceedingly hard to overcome.   We persist in that effort because it is our strong and unequivocal view that we must move beyond talking about talks and get to the hard work of addressing the core issues that separate Israelis and Palestinians.  Secretary Clinton just completed for the President a comprehensive review of the efforts made so far.  She acknowledged the challenges and noted some progress, while rededicating the United States to working with both sides to re-launch negotiations in an atmosphere in which they can succeed.  Her visit this past weekend was another step in promoting that goal, and 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 the United States, the Palestinians, the Arab world and the entire international community.  The status quo is not sustainable and time is not on our side.  The goal that we believe must be pursued is very clear, and the President set this out in New York before the General Assembly:  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 full potential of the Palestinian people.  This is the outcome which will open the way to stability and progress, 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 this enduring 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.

The creation of a stable Palestinian state, one that becomes a state that can live with Israel in peace, security and prosperity, is necessary for genuine peace.  The United States, Quartet envoy Tony Blair and many members of the international community are supporting the development of infrastructure and the capacity of the Palestinian Authority.    The Palestinian Authority, under the leadership of President Abbas and Prime Minister Fayyad, has made important progress towards achieving these goals, and we are continuing to support the important work toward them.

On Election Day 2008, almost exactly a year ago today, I predicted, when it had become  apparent that the President had won the election, that President Obama would be a good friend to Israel.  A year later, according to the polls, there is doubt in Israel about that proposition. It is 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 that we have heard quite clearly, this administration has made prominent its recognition of Israel as a Jewish state.  We are developing a deep, 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 at the U.N., 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 Goldstone report after it was issued clearly and repeatedly, including the overly broad scope of its recommendations, its failure to address the asymmetrical nature of the conflict, and its sweeping conclusions of law.

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 right to self defense.  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, 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.  I was reminded that today happens to be the 30th anniversary of the seizure of the American Embassy in Tehran.  That event of course, established the tenor of our relationship with Iran up to this point.  The President wants to move beyond this past, if we can.  As he said in a statement today, “We have heard for thirty years what the Iranian government is against; the question now is what kind of future is it for?”

This administration is determined to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, and to blunt the impact of extremism in the region, including Hizbollah and Hamas.   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 trying to clarify that choice for Iran, and to make clear that it cannot escape making that choice.  So we will see if engagement is able to produce the concrete results we need in short period of time, 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.  Successive American administrations have been working over the years to find a way forward to that goal.  That is the real path to real security for Israel.  And the global reaction emanating from such a solution would enhance the prospects for progress in other conflicts that are underway and still others that are in their infancy.

Just as the rewards of peace are great, so, too, are the consequences of failing to seize the opportunity to work together to achieve a better and brighter future.  And as the President works to advance the cause of peace, we will work to strengthen the unshakeable bond between the United States and Israel that has endured for more than 60 years and we look forward to the cooperation and support of partners in Israel, in this government and the Palestinians Authority and other capitals in the region to help us reach that goal that has been elusive for so long and so difficult. 

Thank you very much.