By Micah Halpern
I've Been Thinking:
There was nothing really new in Obama's speech on the Middle East. What was touted as a major policy speech that would shape the region and cause people to rethink their conceptions of the Middle East was a simple re-run.
The president said nothing new. He blamed both Israel and the Palestinians and took Hamas to task for not recognizing Israel.
About the current stalemate he said to Israel: you are continuing with your settlement policy and that policy cannot continue if you want to pursue peace.
And to the Palestinians he said: you walked away from the table and isolating Israel in the United Nations or elsewhere will not create a Palestinian state.
As expected, Obama asserted that now more than ever is the time to come to an agreement.
The biggest problem with this so-called new policy speech is not what was said, it is that it was all a repeat of things that have already been said. Anyone who expected anything else from this speech does not understand this president. This is the speech that should have been expected, composed and delivered by a president who definitely does not understand the Middle East.
Micah@MicahHalpern.com
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