Thursday, January 22, 2009

George Mitchell, Ireland, Barack Obama, Israel and Palestine


Irish musician Bob Geldof, Irish Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Bertie Ahern, US Senator George Mitchell, Irish broadcaster Marian Finucane, and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair meet in Dublin meet in Dublin Castle to mark the tenth anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement in Dublin, Ireland on April 11, 2008. (Getty Images)

It is amazing that after only 24 hours in office, Barack Obama has asked former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell of Waterville, Maine (our fair city), a Lebanese-American, to be peace broker between the Israelis and Palestinians. Sen. Mitchell has accepted. At age 75.

This is something Chimpy McDrunkface was unable to do for the last 8 years because the White House didn't have Mitchell's phone number and he didn't hate the gays enuf. Allegedly.

It's also funny because Bill "Loser" Clinton asked Sen. George Mitchell to be the peace broker in the 800 year conflict between Ireland and England\ and Sen. Mitchell was instrumental in achieving peace in Northern Ireland -- a peace that most people thought would never occur in our lifetime.

It strikes me as SOMEWHAT AMAZING that the only dedicated U.S. efforts to help create lasting peace in Northern Ireland and Palestine during my lifetime have been conducted by Democratic U.S. Presidents -- and they have largely succeeded. Republican U.S. presidents have not even tried, seeing greater political opportunity in continued ethnic discord and senseless death.

M.J. Rosenberg goes into detail at TPM. Well worth reading.