Mideast

Re "A textbook case of bias for both Israelis, Palestinians," Feb. 5 I don't know which Palestinian school books were reviewed by the U.S. contingent studying early incitement, but apparently they were not presented with the fact that most Palestinian children are indoctrinated with hatred for Israel. And yes, Israel has fallen into the same trap of self-flagellation that we in the U.S. have fallen into in rewriting our history to be more "balanced. " It took a half-million-dollar grant to determine that both sides in the Israeli-Palestinian debate consider the other the enemy?

JERUSALEM -- Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel arrived in Israel on Sunday to begin a weeklong tour of the Middle East as the region grapples with the worsening civil war in Syria and the stubborn nuclear threat from Iran. Making his first visit to the region as Pentagon chief, Hagel is seeking to demonstrate solidarity between the U.S. and Israel -- allies whose relations have been strained over how to deter Iran from pursuing a nuclear weapon. Israel is said to be mulling unilateral military action against Iran's nuclear facilities, a move that Obama administration officials consider extremely risky.

During a Dec. 8 news conference, President Obama rebuked his Republican foreign policy critics: "Ask Osama bin Laden … whether I engage in appeasement," Obama fired back. The president has a point, of course. The special forces raid to get Bin Laden deep in Pakistan was an extremely gutsy call. So too the extrajudicial death sentence that Obama imposed on U.S. citizen Anwar Awlaki in Yemen. More generally, the president has been a veritable killing machine when it comes to anti-American jihadists, escalating drone attacks tenfold against our most fanatical enemies.

The great Yogi Berra is said to have observed, "Predictions are difficult, particularly about the future" (or something very close to that). When UCLA history professor James Gelvin quoted Berra to that effect on Saturday, it served as a capstone to a wide-ranging discussion of the Middle East in the aftermath of the Arab Spring. Wait, scratch that. The term preferred by the panel of Mideast experts speaking at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books was Arab Uprisings, not Arab Spring.

Re the Middle East: There is no danger in believing in God. The danger is in believing he is on your side if you happen to be a Christian, Jew or Muslim. MAX ENFIELD Camarillo

Yes, this is a volunteer army. If I hear this from one other television reporter or read it in another newspaper, I shall lose faith in all that is honest and true. I am so revolted by the constant rationalization of those who say that these men who joined the volunteer army were motivated only by a need to protect our country, no matter what the reason for the carnage. We all know, or should know, that many of them, if not most of them, hoped to become educated, or even to support their families by joining the military.

Five women sit at a dining room table in Camp Pendleton, talking about the dreadful task of saying goodbye to their husbands. Again. As you read this, their Marines, as they call them, are on the way to Afghanistan for seven months, maybe longer. Most of the Marines have already been to Iraq, and Holly Lavely's husband, Patrick, twice injured by improvised explosive devices (IEDs), is fit again and on his 10th deployment. "The second time he was hurt, I was sure that was it -- he was going to die," Lavely says.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton met with Israeli and Palestinian leaders 11 times in three Middle Eastern cities last week, a diplomatic marathon that produced only promises that the adversaries remain committed to the latest U.S.-led peace initiative. Clinton couldn't extract the result she needs: that the two sides put aside their differences over Jewish construction in the occupied West Bank and move on. "All of this is complicated," Clinton acknowledged at the end of a disappointing week.

The United Nations' deadline is fast approaching. Hussein would be wise to withdraw now. He must realize that when shooting starts, there will be no turning back. And it won't be just by the borders of Kuwait but all the way to Baghdad! The man is too naive to think that after war breaks out the United States will be satisfied with getting back Kuwait knowing that Iraq is experimenting on nuclear armaments. (God knows what will happen to the Mideast, nay, the world, if he has the nuclear capability!

Re "Obama's Israel visit," Editorial, March 19 Your editorial's subheadline says that "the U.S. must keep pressing for a two-state solution. " I agree, but 100% of that pressure should be on the Palestinians. There has never been a real "peace process" because the Palestinians' goal has been the destruction of Israel. This was the Mideast Arabs' goal (including the Palestinians') in 1967 before any "occupation" and settlements, in 1948 when Israel declared independence after the partition of Palestine (when the Palestinians refused to declare theirs)

WASHINGTON - President Obama's involvement in the tortuous Middle East peace process can be divided into three chapters, two of which opened with high-profile speeches to audiences of young people. The first began four years ago in Cairo, where Obama called for a "new beginning" in U.S. relations with the world's Muslims. The push for new peace negotiations that ensued ended in failure, followed by a second chapter in which Obama distanced himself from the Israeli-Palestinian arena.

President Obama is visiting Israel this week, the first foreign trip of his second term. Some commentators have criticized the tour as a diversion from the president's intention to pivot toward the Asia-Pacific region. Why go to Israel now, they ask, and anger the Arabs at a time of rising Middle Eastern turmoil? Others claim that the trip is merely a maneuver designed to achieve some memorable photo-ops rather than to advance crucial American interests. Indeed, the president could have traveled farther east and to a less controversial country.

WASHINGTON - President Obama heads to Israel this week with quiet hopes, but little real expectation, that by smoothing rough relations he can help restart the Middle East peace effort that went nowhere in his first term. Obama will not carry with him a detailed proposal for how Israelis and Palestinians might resume talks, such as the one he offered in 2010. He instead plans a listening tour in Jerusalem and in Ramallah, West Bank, to solicit views on what the two sides want and to explore what may be possible.

Re "Syria assails U.S. for aiding rebels," March 3 Here's an idea: If they don't want our help, don't give it to them. The U.S. government is partly to blame for keeping the Syrian war alive by employing both political and moral double standards. However, it is important to look at why the U.S. still intervenes despite the fact that the other allies - Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Turkey and Qatar - all choose to aid Syrian rebels, reportedly through supplying arms. America's participation in Mideast affairs lacks a principled foundation because it is based on the consent of Israel.

Re “ Moving past stalemate ,” Opinion, Feb. 19 Maen Rashid Areikat relies on what has become the standard Palestinian rationalization for refusing to return to negotiations with Israel until the settlement issue is resolved. He relieves the Palestinians of any responsibility to resume negotiations unless either Israel or the United States takes some action.  Israelis haven't become indifferent toward the peace process; successive polls continue to demonstrate their strong desire to achieve a lasting peace.

BEIRUT - An outlawed far-left group that accuses the Turkish government of doing Washington's bidding in Syria and elsewhere claimed responsibility Saturday for the suicide attack on the U.S. Embassy in Ankara. The Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front made the claim in a statement posted on a website linked to the group, according to news reports. The group, known by its Turkish initials DHKP-C, said the bombing Friday was in retaliation for U.S. policy in the Middle East, Turkish public broadcaster TRT reported The United States and Turkey are close allies and fellow members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.