I like Ambassador Rice ... she is level headed and does well representing the United States at the United Nations. But on the subject of Israel and Palestine the US government has it wrong, and has had it wrong for a very long time. The simplistic reason is the powerful Jewish lobby which influences law makers in Washington, but the complete reason is a lot more complex. Obviously the lobby is one factor, but oil politics is another, and, I would argue, a terrible lack of understanding in the US of the Middle East, its history and its culture.

With the upcoming debate in the United Nations General Assembly over Palestine, and the debate in the Security Council, it appears that the United States is going to be on the wrong side of history. The Arab Spring ... or Arab Awakening ... is a tremendous opportunity for people of good will to reshape the agenda so that the people of the region ... all the people of the region ... have greater opportunity. A win win into the future. Top government advisers are mainly in the archaic zero sum game where I win and you lose ... a game that does not work very well, no matter how powerful you think you are.

Peter Burgess

US Ambassador Rice: 'Nothing' Will Change for Palestinian People In Aftermath of United Nations