'If Obama is not firm there will be M. East war this year'

'Economist' claims there is reason to believe that unless remedial action is taken, 2011 might see most destructive war for many years.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Obama stern 311 (photo credit: Associated Press)
Obama stern 311
(photo credit: Associated Press)
Even though US President Barack Obama has attempted to hold direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, the peace has become a little more fragile and the danger of war has increased, The Economist magazine wrote in an article printed this week.
The article suggested that there is reason to believe that unless remedial action is taken, 2011 might see the most destructive such war for many years.
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"After striving for almost two years to shepherd Israeli and Palestinian leaders into direct talks, only for this effort to collapse over the issue of settlements, Obama is in danger of concluding like many presidents before him that Arab-Israeli diplomacy is a Sisyphean distraction," The Economist writes.
The article went on to say "Instead of giving up, Obama needs to change his angle of attack. America has clung too long to the dogma that direct talks between Israel and the Palestinians are the way forward."
Former President Bill Clinton unveiled his blueprint at the end of a negotiation that had failed, the magazine wrote. Therefore Obama should set out his own map and make this a new starting point.
According to The Economist, Obama has shown in battles as different as health reform and the New START nuclear treaty with Russia that he has the quality of persistence. He should persist in the Palestinian Authority too, the magazine suggested.