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Gates of Chai

Peacemaker Dennis Ross shares his ideas on the Middle East.

Gates of Chai

Peacemaker Dennis Ross shares his ideas on the Middle East.

Tensions may be rising worldwide, but no conflict is more important and impactful to the globe than the Middle East, Ambassador Dennis Ross told a crowd of about 400 at October’s Gates of Chai lecture.

“Now is the time we have to take on the Israeli-Palestinian issues and solve them,” said Ross, Counselor and Distinguished Fellow of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and former State Department specialist for presidents George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton.

Ross highlighted a three-step approach to resolve the conflict:
1) Have Israelis and Palestinians negotiate a real cease-fire;
2) Support a referendum of the Palestinian people that supports a two-state government without Hamas;
3) Urge the international community to stop supporting Hezbollah.

A summary of Ross’s insights and opinions

Iran The U.S. could have some success in curbing Iran’s nuclear program by pressuring the nation economically through stricter enforcement of existing regulations, offering Tehran the prospect of appropriate inducements, implementing security measures that dissuade and deter the regime, making the preventive military option more credible and promoting reform regardless of the nuclear situation. Even if such measures prove ineffective in the face of a clerical leadership dead set on nuclear development, they can still serve as proof that Washington is pursuing every peaceful option possible, thus strengthening the U.S. position if more severe measures become necessary.

Iraq A long-discussed regional conference with all of Iraq’s neighbors should be held. None of them – Iran, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria, Turkey – wants the Bush administration to succeed in Iraq (at least in the way the president defines success). And yet every one of them fears the consequences of an Iraq convulsed in the aftermath of a precipitous U.S. withdrawal.

North Korea What’s happening in the Middle East is linked to North Korea because they will sell their nuclear technology to the highest bidder.

George W. Bush The administration needs to insist that a national reconciliation conference be held and not be disbanded until an agreement is reached on amendments to the Iraqi constitution.

Hezbollah The Israeli-Palestinian conflict did have an important impact on the military capabilities of both Israel and Hezbollah, its impact on Hezbollah’s global terrorist capability was negligible.

Shiites The Shiites, who dominate the government, may have reason to distrust the Sunnis, but they also remain unready to recognize the Sunnis’ need for formal assurance that they will have a piece of the pie.

Sunnis The Sunnis may understand, intellectually, that they will no longer hold all the positions of power and privilege, but emotionally they have yet to accept the idea of the Shiites – an underclass in their eyes –as the dominant political force.

Kurds The Kurds, regardless of what they say, expect to be independent and simply want a political framework that legitimizes that status without exposing them to threats from Turkey or Iran.