| Getting a little crowded under that bus, isn't it? |
With US credibility and influence in the Middle East at stake,
| Nah, it isn't at stake. We squandered it all a good while back... |
A year after telling the UN General Assembly he hoped to see a Palestinian state born by now, the US president said creating such a state alongside Israel remained his goal.
"But the question isn't the goal we seek -- the question is how to reach it. And I am convinced that there is no short cut to the end of a conflict that has endured for decades," Obama said.
"Peace will not come through statements and resolutions at the UN -- if it were that easy, it would have been accomplished by now," he said.
| Well that and a few hundred billion in bribes... |
| Of course, the Israelis have to do what Bambi tells them to do... |
Obama's speech infuriated Palestinians. Yasser Abed Rabbo, a senior Palestinian
"We expected to hear that the freedom of the Palestinian people was the key to the Arab spring," he said.
| Then again, the Arab Spring looks as phony as the PLO... |
"I want to thank you, Mr. President, for standing with Israel and supporting peace," a beaming Netanyahu said as the two men met with a backdrop of US and Israeli flags on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session.
Referring to Obama's vow to veto a Palestinian recognition appeal, possibly in the UN Security Council, Netanyahu said: "I think this is a badge of honor and I want to thank you for wearing that badge of honor."
Netanyahu hoped that despite intense political pressure, other world leaders would follow Obama and oppose any attempt by the Palestinians to raise the statehood issue in the Security Council.
In one of several frantic efforts to avert a diplomatic disaster, French President Nicolas Sarkozy proposed that the United Nations give the Palestinians status as a UN observer state while setting out a road map for peace within one year.
| Any firm timetable favors the Paleos, which is why the Y'urp-peons are for it... |
The United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations -- the "Quartet" of Middle East mediators -- are seeking a compromise, with no signs yet of success. The Security Council could also delay action on Abbas' request for weeks, giving the Quartet more time to come up with a statement that could coax both sides back to the table.
The Palestinians said they will give the Security Council "some time" to study their application. "We will give some time to the Security Council to consider first our full membership request before heading to the General Assembly," Nabil Shaath, a senior