Peace in the Middle East: Jumpstarting the Process This was written in Feb 2003 for a International Relations course. What the US should do to make progress in the Israeli/Palestinian problem.

Since the Six Day War in 1967, what little peace that has been experienced in the Middle East has only been saturated with tension. The Israelis and the Palestinians are consumed in an ongoing situation consisting of cycling attacks and counterattacks. Palestinian violence provokes the Israeli government to enforce harsher regulation of Muslim towns, in return producing more Palestinian violence (Congressional Quarterly). The problem is certainly tragic and has no clear solution. No matter how difficult and frustrating the conflict has proven to be, as the only remaining world power, the United States has the influence to implement a peace process.

During the first months after taking office, President Bush indicated that he would not be following in his predecessor's footsteps; instead he planned to remain uninvolved in the Middle East peace process. While the pressure to intervene in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was increasing, not until the September 11 attacks did the administration's focus dramatically shift to the Middle East.

September 11, 2001 attacks in New York City: View ...

Map of Israel, the Palestinian territories (West B...

English: Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, U.S...

Both sides had high expectation of U.S. movement, as the War on Terrorism was declared. Israelis relied on the America's sympathy, because now they too were a victim of Islamic terrorism. The Palestinians noted that in order to solidify support of Arab nations in the fight against terrorism, the U.S. must revive peace talks (Congressional Quarterly). It is hard to say which side benefited, if either, from the terrorist attacks in New York. Regardless, the same obstacles prohibit an agreement, and anti-Americanism still exists in the Arab world, creating more difficulty. If the peace process is to be jumpstarted, America must first prepare both sides for negotiations. Otherwise, lacking the political will to make an agreement, any purposed solution will only fail, as seen in Clinton's efforts at Camp David in 2000 (Congressional Quarterly).

The dreadful results of a...