President Obama Opens New Round of Mideast Peace Talks

President Obama convened a new round of Mideast peace talks yesterday, telling Israeli and Palestinian leaders that they faced another opportunity to bury deep-seated disagreements. Noted the president, "This moment of opportunity may not soon come again. They cannot afford to let it slip away." Obama also made comments that made it clear that he was keep expectations in check, noting, "The hard work is only beginning. Neither success nor failure is inevitable. But this much we know: If we do not make this attempt, then failure is guaranteed. If both sides do not commit to these talks in earnest, then long-standing conflict will only continue to fester and consume another generation, and this we simply cannot allow."

Of course, the divisions among Palestinians and Israelis have gone on since the founding of the new Israeli state, and for thousands of years before that between the ancestors to the current entrants to the feud. Still, Obama continued in earnest, noting that the stakes of settling these differences are indeed high. Said Obama, "Too much blood has already been shed. Too many lives have already been lost. Too many hearts have already been broken."

For those who would cast a cynical eye toward the resuming of peace talks between adversaries who have been at each others throats for millennia, Obama said, "And despite what the cynics say, history teaches us that there is a different path. It is the path of resolve and determination, where compromise is possible and old conflicts at long last can end."