It is feasible. We tried that. I tried very hard in behalf of President Obama to get the Arab states to take steps in the direction of normalization, based on the Arab peace initiative, proposed initially by King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia.
George Mitchell discusses the feasibility of an outside-in strategy for peace in the Middle East, referencing past efforts during the Obama administration.
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I think he's confronted with the realities now. You can say anything you want on the campaign trail. You can promise anything you want. But when you confront the hard realities, when you're in office, when you get information that makes it…
Mr. Chairman, I think it ought to be clear that what we are doing here is establishing one rule for every American business, every American interest except oil and gas, and then a special rule for those in the oil and gas business.
When I first went to the Middle East, I went to 17 countries and I met with the leaders there many, many times, and every time they would criticize American policy, I would ask what do you think our policy should be?
We all compromised, because it is the only way you ever get anything done around here.
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