This Tuesday there will be a conference regarding peace in the Middle East in Annapolis, MD. Dozens of Arab governments and international groups have been invited by the Bush administration yet the two main parties involved, the Palestinian government and the Israeli government, have not yet agreed on a draft agenda from which they will begin their negotiations.
A few reasons behind this is that either party cannot seem to agree on how the draft is to be worded. The Palestinians prefer that the draft be called a “document” while the Israelis prefer it be called a “statement.” The Israelis also wanted call Israel as a homeland for the Jewish people while the Palestinians wanted to call it a homeland for the Palestinian people.
I find that these disagreements are rather petty yet it is quite understandable why the Palestinians and Israelis just cannot agree. What I don’t understand is why is the US choosing to involve itself in such matters? I know that others may argue that US involvement in foreign affairs is necessary for the economy but is it necessary for the US to mediate between a dispute as petty as how a draft should be worded?
The US already has so many other problems to deal with and so I personally don’t think that it’s necessary to be so involved in other countries’ matters. Maybe the US sort of has an obligation to help other countries because it is the world’s leading economic superpower but I just don’t think that it needs to involve itself in problems like this when the UN can take care of it. If the US is going to be the mediator for so many disputes between different countries, then why was the UN established in the first place?
2 comments:
The matter of wording seems extremely petty, but depending on how you word the draft, people who read it will think different things. Being a mediator between countries really does seem like something the UN ought to do. If the US does it, then won't we have to take sides and choose what ultimately happens? And if we take a side, wouldn't that just start more conflicts involving the US? It just doesn't seem like a good idea to me.
Israel is a strong ally to the US. They gave us instant messenger and a whole bunch of other cool and useful things. What's good for Israel is good for the US, so, as a country, we care what they're doing. The UN doesn't care about Israel as much as the US does, so we're doing something about it.
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