Regional Reactions to New Administration

Just two days after his inauguration U.S. President Barack Obama began to move forward on his electoral promise to work on the Middle East issues. Obama's first telephone call as president of the United States was to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, whom Obama assured of his administration's interest in finding a lasting and just solution to the Middle East crisis.

Accompanied by Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the president paid a visit to the State Department Thursday where he appointed ... George Mitchell as special envoy to the Middle East and Richard Holbrooke as special envoy to Pakistan/Afghanistan. Outstanding choices in both cases. ...

The rebirth of the peace process offers the Arabs and the Israelis one final opportunity to try and resolve this conflict that has been going on for more than 60 years. George Mitchell, although he will travel to the region as the special representative of the president of the United States, can only be as successful as the Arabs and the Israelis want him to be. One thing is certain, and that is the determination of Obama to settle the issue; and given that determination, it would not bode well to get on the wrong side of this president. Access the full article>>

In his speech, Obama carefully avoided using the phrase “war on terror” or referring to the Pak-Afghan border as the epicenter of terror, but ... Obama made it clear that this was going to remain a preoccupation of his administration. ...

[S]harply etched in the minds of Pakistanis is Obama’s statement during the election campaign in mid-2007 that “If we have actionable intelligence about high-value terrorist targets and President [Pervez] Musharraf will not act, we will.” ... Other statements have suggested that he was modifying his position. In July 2008, he said that he wanted to devise a policy that “compels Pakistani action against terrorists who threaten our common security and are using the FATA and the Northwest Territories of Pakistan as a safe haven.” In the same month ... he contended that too much U.S. financial assistance to Pakistan has been military aid, and “not enough of it has been in the form of building schools and building infrastructure in the country to help develop and give opportunity to the Pakistani people.” Access the full article>>

The upcoming regional tour of the newly-appointed U.S. special envoy George Mitchell to the Middle East carries a significant message that the new U.S. administration seeks a vital role in the region, though no immediate and tangible results are expected from the first tour, Palestinian politicians and analysts said. ...

Arabs blame the log jam of the peace efforts in the Middle East during the past eight years on insufficient willingness on the Bush’s administration part, despite the fact it was the first administration to officially adopt the two-state solution for the Palestinian conflict. Bush’s administration was, to Arabs, biased towards Israel. Many Arabs hope that Barack Obama’s administration will exert more effort towards finding a solution to the 60-year-conflict. ... Choosing Mitchell as the U.S. special envoy was a “positive development and a right thing to do,” Palestinian MP Mustafa Barghouti said.

“The war on Gaza made it necessary for the Americans to move quickly not only for the Palestinians, but also for the Israelis,” Palestinian political scientist Jehad Hareb said. Mitchell is expected to work with the Arab countries on “keeping the truce in place and to ban arms smuggling to Gaza,” under Hamas control, Hareb explained. Access the full article>>

Israeli President Shimon Peres, January 20, 2009:

“Today is a great day not only for the United States of America, but for the entire world. ... He won because of his personality, because of his philosophy, and because of the hope he offers to all of us. If he will be a great president of the United States, he will serve all humankind, all nations and all persons. To be a great American president today means to struggle for peace, to fight terror, to correct the environment, and to offer the young generation a better future. ...

“I want on behalf of the people of Israel, ... to tell the president, ‘God bless you.’ Your success will be our success. Your hope will become a reality. ... I think that all of us expect to translate this occasion into a real opportunity to pacify, to meet through dialogue, and bring a peaceful solution to all parties concerned.”

George Mitchell, Special Envoy for Middle East Peace

George Mitchell has had a long, distinguished and varied career in public service. He began as a lawyer in the U.S. Justice Department from 1960 until 1979 before becoming a federal district court judge. In 1980, Mitchell was appointed U.S. Senator from Maine. He was elected to full Senate terms in 1982 and 1988. While in the Senate, he was a member of the Select Committee on Iran-Contra and he voted against the resolution to enter the Gulf War in 1991. George Mitchell served as Senate majority leader from 1988 until 1994.

In 1996, Mitchell was appointed as President Clinton’s special envoy to Northern Ireland. As part of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, Mitchell developed the concept of ‘parallel decommissioning’ outlining a progressive disarmament to match political progress. In 1999, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor. From 2000-2001, Mitchell led the Sharm el-Sheikh International Fact-Finding Committee, which examined the breakdown of the peace process and the outbreak of violence in 2000. It recommended that Israel freeze settlement expansion, the Palestinians crack down on terrorism and that both sides agree to cease acts of violence unconditionally.

As special envoy for Middle East peace, Mitchell will be tasked with helping to formulate a strategy that protects Israel's security while creating a sustainable and secure end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with two states living side by side, and promoting additional peace accords between Israel and its Arab neighbors as well as working to develop a program for humanitarian aid and eventual reconstruction in Gaza. A State Department official said that Mitchell will work out of the State Department.

Richard Holbrooke, Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan

Richard Holbrooke joined the Foreign Service in 1962 and served in Vietnam from 1963 to 1966. Holbrooke was a member of Averell Harriman’s delegation at the 1968-69 Paris Peace talks on Vietnam. He also served as assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs from 1977 to 1981 and U.S. ambassador to Germany in 1993 and 1994.

As assistant secretary of state for European and Canadian affairs from 1994 to 1996, Holbrooke was the chief architect of the Dayton Peace Agreement. The 1995 agreement ended fighting in Bosnia and created two Bosnian entities (the Republika Srpska and the Muslim-Croat Federation) to function within one overarching government. He was later nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts. Holbrooke served as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations from 1999 to 2001.

As special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Holbrooke will have the authority to coordinate between various agencies within the government to implement an integrated approach to Afghanistan and Pakistan.