Clinton Speech to Pressure Arab Countries

Martine Kaplan — July 15, 2009 – 11:52 am | Foreign Policy | Iran | Israel Comments (0) Add a comment

Greg Sargent of Washington Post’s Plum Line is reporting that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will accuse Arab countries of not doing enough on their end to achieve peace in the Middle East. Specifically, she intends to criticize Arab countries for not being proactive following the Saudi peace proposal in 2002 and waiting for the Israelis and Palestinians to resolve things themselves.

From Sargent’s advance excerpt of the speech, which will be given at the Council on Foreign Relations:

“We know that progress toward peace cannot be the responsibility of the United States –- or Israel -– alone. Ending the conflict requires action on all sides. Arab states have a responsibility to support the Palestinian Authority with words and deeds, to take steps to improve relations with Israel, and to prepare their publics to embrace peace and accept Israel’s place in the region.”

The speech will also focus on other issues. According to an excerpt obtained by the Associated Press, Clinton will also address Iran, warning that time is running out and penalties could be place exacted if it continues to pursue building nuclear weapons. More broadly, Politico is reporting that the speech will also lay out the administration’s six foreign policy priorities.

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