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Obama's Biggest Nightmare

Delivering Israeli-Palestinian peace.

What should Barack Obama do in the Middle East? In today's Jerusalem Post, American scholar Aaron David Miller writes that "a conflict-ending agreement between Israelis and Palestinians may no longer be possible." Both parties lack the political will to implement it: The increasingly fractured Palestinian leadership can't rein in violence, while Israel lacks a politician with "the authority and skill to make and sell the tough choices required for Israeli-Palestinian peace." Miller's advice for Obama? "Manage it as best you can: help support an Israeli-Hamas ceasefire, train PA security forces, pour economic aid into the West Bank and Gaza, even nurture Israeli-Palestinian negotiations on the big issues, but don't think you can solve it; you can't."