DON WALTON / Lincoln Journal Star | Posted: Thursday, July 27, 2006 7:00 pm
Sen. Chuck Hagel proposed Friday that the United States re-engage in a Middle East peace process and talk directly with Iran and Syria.
Revival of a 2002 Arab League proposal recognizing Israel’s right to exist in exchange for a negotiated two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would be a place to begin, Hagel said.
“Crisis diplomacy is no substitute for sustained, day-to-day engagement,” he said.
The United States will remain committed to defending Israel, Hagel said, but that enduring relationship “need not and cannot be at the expense of our Arab and Muslim relationships.”
“It is in Israel’s interest, as much as ours, that the United States be seen by all states in the Middle East as fair,” Nebraska’s Republican senator told a Brookings Institution forum in Washington.
Isolation of the United States and Israel in the Middle East, and internationally, would “marginalize America’s global leadership, trust and influence,” Hagel said.
The 2002 Arab League plan, proposed by King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and known as the Beirut Declaration, should be revived in some version as “a starting point” with U.S. engagement, he said.
“We need a new Beirut Declaration-type initiative. We squandered the last one.”
Israel rejected the original Arab proposal that would require Israel to withdraw from all occupied territories, return to its 1967 borders and agree to establishment of the new Palestinian state’s capital in East Jerusalem in exchange for full recognition by all Arab states.
The Saudi royal court warned Israel this week that its 2002 proposal may be withdrawn, The New York Times reported Friday.
“If the peace option is rejected due to the Israeli arrogance,” the court said, “then only the war option remains and no one knows the repercussions befalling the region, including wars and conflict that will spare no one, including those whose military power is now tempting them to play with fire.”
In a telephone interview following his speech, Hagel said the United States is “isolating itself in the world (by) not calling for a cease fire to stop the violence” in Lebanon.
“The systematic destruction of Lebanon is uncalled for and we’re all going to pay a high price for this,” Hagel said. “This has to stop.”
Israel’s continuing military assault in Lebanon in retaliation for Hezbollah kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers has resulted in hundreds of civilian deaths and destroyed much of the country’s infrastructure.
In terms of seeking an overall Middle East settlement, the 2002 Beirut Declaration is imperfect, Hagel said, but it represents an important Arab initiative that could serve as the basis for negotiation.
Hagel, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told the Brookings audience the United States should not continue to refuse to engage Iran and Syria.
“America’s approach to Syria and Iran is inextricably tied to Middle East peace,” he said.
“As we work with our friends and allies to deny Syria and Iran any opportunity to further corrode the situation in Lebanan and the Palestinian territories, both Damascus and Tehran must hear from America directly.”
Hagel said Israel has the undeniable right to defend itself from aggression by Hezbollah and Hamas.
But, he warned, “extended military action will tear apart Lebanon, destroy its economy and infrastructure, create a humanitarian disaster, further weaken Lebanon’s fragile democratic government, strengthen popular Muslim and Arab support for Hezbollah, and deepen hatred of Israel across the Middle East.”
Hagel urged President Bush to name a personal envoy to lead sustained U.S. engagement in a diplomatic effort to end the current conflict, secure the Israel-Lebanon border and invigorate “the political track” toward a Middle East settlement.
“A robust international force deployed along the Israel-Lebanon border will be required to facilitate a steady deployment of a strengthened Lebanese army into southern Lebanon to eventually assume responsibility for security and the rule of law,” Hagel said.
Meanwhile, in Washington, Sen. Ben Nelson issued a statement urging the European Union to place Hezbollah on its outlaw list of terrorist organizations.
Hezbollah’s continuing rocket attacks on Israel are “fundamentally attacks on the peace process,” the Nebraska Democrat said.
Nelson said he supports placing an international stabilization force in southern Lebanon.
Reach Don Walton at 473-7248 or at dwalton@journalstar.com.