January 28, 2009

What do you call someone who continually repeats mistakes that have been made by others?

George Mitchell has been dispatched to the Middle East by President Obama. In an interview for a moderate Arab satellite news service, Obama suggests that the Bush administration impeded peace talks. In fact, President Bush pushed for a Palestinian state more than any president I can remember. The radicals care less about a Palestinian state than they do the elimination of the Israeli state and ultimately the United States.

What do we have that they want and what would they give up that we want? They believe their God has commanded them to wipe out all infidels, which they define as anyone who doesn’t believe as they do. How do you negotiate with that?

Some people think George Mitchell can do in the Middle East what he achieved in Northern Ireland. The difference is that Irish Catholics didn’t want to take over the world, only reunify their country. Anyone who thinks this administration will do better at bringing peace to the Middle East than previous administrations is, well, foolish.

Cal Thomas is a nationally syndicated columnist based in Washington, D.C.