Morning Update: Middle East Questions
Republican candidate Mike Huckabee said on CNN’s Late Edition yesterday he would only support a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict if there was “some guarantee of security and concessions on the part of the nations that would surround Israel.” He also said the United States is “enslaved” to Saudi oil, at the expense of human rights and the war on terror.
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), back from a Thanksgiving trip to Iraq (WashPost), cited “accelerated” military and political progress there. “If we’d have withdrawn six months ago, my friend, al-Qaeda would be trumpeting all over the world how they’ve defeated the United States of America,” he said on ABC’s This Week.
On the same show, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson disagreed with McCain’s assertions about Iraq. He again stressed his view that “the best way to achieve a political solution in Iraq is to withdraw our forces.”
A Wall Street Journal op-ed today by the Hoover Institution’s Shelby Steele looks at Sen. Barack Obama’s plan to hold direct talks with Iran. He says such a tactic would grant the United States moral authority: “Either our high-risk diplomacy works or we have the license to fight to win. In the meantime, we give our allies around the world every reason to respect us.”
