A Historical Mission

Without powerful American leadership, not only Iran but also other medium-sized countries in politically tense regions will start equipping themselves with nuclear weapons. In this scenario, the increase in the number of countries with nuclear capabilities will inevitably cause the world to slide into a nuclear war, which will put an end to the human race within a matter of decades.

Nowadays we face a mystery: Why is America, the superpower with unprecedented military and economic force, struggling to keep the world in order? Despite the answer to this being in the psychological field, the ramifications are political.

The Muslim world, a quarter of the population, harbors hostility toward America. Masses of Muslims see America as an enemy who started two wars against Islam, one of which is still underway after over a decade. In addition, huge numbers of Muslims from Rabat to Jakarta are convinced that for the past 45 years Washington has been supporting Israeli occupation of Arab land, despite this claim failing to fit the complex reality.

Barack Obama, even during his days as a presidential candidate, understood the limitations of power in the modern world, which has led his country, the only superpower on earth, to the tragic position in which it struggles to lead the world, a world that desperately seeks American leadership. In the early days of his presidency, he began taking steps toward strengthening ties with the Muslim world. His speeches in Cairo and Istanbul can be interpreted as the early steps in making peace between America and Islamic nations. However, the economic crisis which befell America, the political battle over the historic health care reform and his desperate struggle against the Republican majority in the House of Representatives halted his movement toward peace with the Muslim world.

Now, after being elected for the second time, Obama is renewing his momentum toward achieving his objective, which he sees as his political legacy. The date has already been set for the end of the war in Afghanistan — late 2014. All his efforts are going to focus on solving the Palestinian issue, the real reason for his anticipated visit to Israel.

In the eyes of the president, the absence of a solution to the Palestinian problem is a significant obstacle standing in the way of America becoming closer to the Muslim world. Considering Israel’s military and political dependence on America (especially regarding the UN Security Council veto), there is no doubt that Obama will succeed in his mission. The lack of political constraints during his second time in office only reiterates this assumption.

To the president, the solution to the Palestinian issue stands before the deterioration of America’s status in the world and the potential slide toward a future nuclear war. There is therefore no doubt that Obama sees the establishment of a Palestinian state as his historical mission.

The 44th president of the United States is learning from the mistake of the 42nd president, Bill Clinton, who rushed into dealing with the Palestinian problem only six months before the end of his presidency, upon Ehud Barak’s request to assemble the second Camp David convention. Obama is not willing to take any risks, as he is unsure whether the four years at hand are sufficient in order to solve this complicated, tense and hateful conflict. The president is even unwilling to give Secretary of State John Kerry just a few months to test the waters. He has decided to navigate the peacemaking between Israel and the Palestinians himself and is willing to put his entire political weight and prestige on the table in order to succeed.

It can be assumed that the president will soon initiate a wide-range political process to redesign the Middle East, as only a procedure on this scale has a chance of halting the victory march within the region of Islamic extremism. His first step will certainly be an effort to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. If he strives to leave a better world behind, he simply has no other choice.

Israel and America’s political aims in this area are identical. For both nations, the establishment of a Palestinian state is not an objective in itself but rather a means to achieve a greater goal. For America, the goal is the reinforcement of its status in the world via transferring the Muslim world to its side. For Israel, the goal is to reach a political understanding with the Muslim world and achieve recognition throughout it.

Israel now has to strive to achieve a regional arrangement, of which the establishment of a Palestinian state will simply be a supporting component, and which will bring the Arab world’s ambassadors to Jerusalem.