In key points, Obama's Middle East policy is similar to that of President Ronald Reagan, whom most Republicans regard as their party's greatest leader in living memory. Reagan's most detailed and carefully considered presentation of his views on the Israel-Palestine issue was given in a major presidential address of Sept. 1, 1982, which came to be known as "The Reagan Plan."
"The United States," he warned the Israelis, "will not support the use of any additional land for the purpose of settlements during the transition period. Indeed, the immediate adoption of a settlement freeze by Israel, more than any other action, could create the confidence needed for wider participation in these talks."
America's efforts for peace in the region, Reagan went on, must be based on UN Security Council Resolution 242 , which calls for the "withdrawal of Israel armed forces from territories occupied" in the June 1967 war, and which is explicit in "emphasizing the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war."
Reagan said: "... We base our approach squarely on the principle that the Arab-Israeli conflict should be resolved through the negotiations involving an exchange of territory for peace. This exchange is enshrined in United Nations Security Council Resolution 242, which is, in turn, incorporated in all its parts in the Camp David agreements. U.N. Resolution 242 remains wholly valid as the foundation-stone of America's Middle East peace effort. It is the United States' position that -- in return for peace -- the withdrawal provision of Resolution 242 applies to all fronts, including the West Bank and Gaza."
Claims by Rick Perry, Mitt Romney and other Republicans that President Obama's policies are biased toward the Palestinians or are somehow hostile to Israel are so groundless that they can only be regarded as conscious falsehoods. If the Republican critics of Obama's Middle East policy are honest and consistent, they must reject President Reagan's policy as similarly dangerous, "naïve" and harmful to Israel.
