August 27, 2001

Green Light for Israel
Robert Kagan and William Kristol

"But the president should do more than resist foolish counsel. He should assert true American leadership by suspending our role as the Middle East's honest broker, on the grounds that the peace process in which such a role might conceivably make sense has given way to a condition of war. He should make clear that for the duration of this war, which has been thrust upon Israel by Yasser Arafat and his Palestinian Authority, the United States is morally and strategically compelled to support its ally. He should let it be known to the Israelis, the Palestinians, and to the Arab world that Israel will be allowed to fight the war by the means it deems necessary, without American carping and with whatever American material and financial support may be required. Strange as it may seem to our foreign policy establishment and to the international club of peacemaking professionals, an American green light to Israel could actually create the conditions for stability and peace in the region. But even if it didn't, there is no alternative consistent with American interests and moral obligations."
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