I see two problems here.

One, why does the United States, or any Western power for that matter, need to be a “primary broker” in Middle East diplomacy? Maybe it’s time to let the Israelis, Palestinians, and other Arab states figure this out for themselves, and let the United States, EU, and Russia sit in back instead of in the driver’s seat. Would it be so wrong for the Israelis to send some new attaches to the Arab countries and make some new concessions to the Palestinians? What is there to fear? And on another note, it’s not as though what the Middle East is yearning for is more American involvement (hint hint, Egypt).

Two, the problem when advocating for American involvement in Middle East diplomacy is the brand of double speak that has characterized the last half dozen presidencies. ‘We will always support Israel but yet we want to help the Arabs and the Palestinians’ works only inasmuch as you don’t make any real push for peace because you can’t have it both ways. You can’t implicitly support Israeli settlements (vis-a-vis vetoing this UN bill) when the Palestinians demand they be stopped. The best thing the US can do is take a concrete stance with with firm positions and real red lines, not the kind of rhetoric that is catered to both sides.