Likewise, U.S. failure to credibly lead Middle East peace efforts has global implications, with U.S. allies and adversaries alike watching and judging U.S. credibility and relevance in the foreign policy arena based on U.S. performance in the Middle East. It is not an exaggeration to say that the credibility of U.S. foreign policy as a whole is at stake in the Middle East. The conclusions that will be drawn from a failure of U.S. foreign policy in the Israeli-Arab arena - in Tehran or Pyongyang, when negotiating over their nuclear programs, or in Moscow, when negotiating over arms control, or even Paris and London when considering NATO interests - have very real and damaging consequences for U.S. national security.

Clearly, the Israeli-Palestinian and the Arab-Israeli conflicts are not the source of all problems in the region. However, the linkages between the conflict and U.S. national security are undeniable.

Sustained, credible U.S. efforts to achieve Israeli-Arab peace are a necessary element of U.S. support for Israel and must be a cornerstone of any serious U.S. approach to confronting the challenges emanating from this volatile region. The simple fact is this: the U.S. can - and perhaps at times should - want peace more than the parties, given all that the U.S. has at stake.

APN urges policy makers to recognize that the achievement of Israeli-Palestinian and Israeli-Arab peace is a U.S. national security imperative and to press President Obama to work resolutely to achieve Israeli-Palestinian and Israeli-Arab peace agreements.

(Feb. 2011)