Augustus Richard Norton, advisor to the John F. Kerry campaign on Mideast foreign policy, is interviewed by Lebanon’s Daily Star, promising Arabs that a Kerry victory would mark a return to serious diplomacy. Arabs, of course, are world-famous for their highly distinguished diplomacy. (Hat tip: Allah.)

If US presidential hopeful John Kerry makes it to the White House, the “rhetorical flourishes” and “loud declarations” that has defined the Bush administration will be long gone, says veteran Mideast analyst Augustus Richard Norton.

Norton, a professor of anthropology at Boston University, said Kerry’s presidency would mark a return to “serious diplomacy” and a re-engagement on the Palestinian and Syrian tracks of the moribund peace process.

But if US President George W. Bush wins a second term, Norton predicted there would be little change in his Mideast policy, raising the specter of a possible pre-emptive attack against Iran’s fledgling nuclear ambitions.

Norton, who has been consulted on Mideast policy by the Kerry campaign, said the Democratic nominee’s chances “look pretty good.”

“The atmosphere is going to change pretty dramatically,“ he said. ”Let’s be blunt. Bush is extremely unpopular in Europe and the Middle East, and increasingly at home say as well.

“Kerry is much more likely to change the process of consultation, much more likely to listen instead of acting thoughtlessly, much more likely to try and cooperate fully with international groupings, such as the EU and the UN.”

He said a Kerry administration would probably regard the unofficial Geneva Accord drawn up last year by former Israeli and Palestinian government officials and peace negotiators as a “template” for resuming the Mideast peace process.

“I think it very likely we will specifically see Kerry embrace that kind of model,” he said.

The accord would give Palestinians a homeland in the Gaza Strip and most of the West Bank and divide Jerusalem while denying the return of the vast majority of Palestinian refugees to their former homes. [This is not at all the way the Palestinians read it, but what’s another lie between friends? —ed.]

On the Israeli-Syria front, Norton said he expects Kerry to try and initiate negotiations.

“I think in general what we would see is a process of re-engagement by Kerry which will have the effect of provoking debate within Israel which will be very constructive and imbue Palestinians with a sense of hope that there can be some progress,” he said. “Unlike Bush, I don’t think we are going to see the egregiously unfortunate rhetoric of applauding Israeli Premier Ariel Sharon and people like Sharon as ‘men of peace.’ Instead we are likely to see a more serious attempt to engage more moderate voices in Israel.”

Unfortunately, we have to rely on unguarded statements like these from Kerry’s advisors to get a glimpse of his foreign policy views—because Kerry himself has been unremittingly, deliberately vague about these vital issues.

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