U.S. special envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell wrapped up his maiden trip to the region on Sunday and arrived in France on Monday to continue his visit, which is meant to help consolidate a fragile ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, revive the peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians and in search of a new U.S. Mideast policy in the long term.
RESHAPING U.S. IMAGE
Since the swearing-in ceremony on Jan. 20, U.S. President Barack Obama has voiced his readiness and willingness to engage in the Middle East affairs, help reactivate the stalled peace talks and, much more important, improve the image of the United States in the troubled region and in the Muslim world as a whole.
Three days after the swearing-in ceremony of Obama, who has vowed for "active engagement in pursuit of Arab-Israeli peace from the beginning" of his term, the U.S. president appointed veteran diplomat Mitchell as the new U.S. envoy to the Middle East.
At the appointment ceremony for Mitchell, Obama said "It will be the policy of my administration to actively and aggressively seek a lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinians as well as Israel and its Arab neighbors."
Mitchell, served on an international commission that examined the escalating Israeli-Palestinian conflict in 2000, was dispatched to the Middle East for peace talks within a week after Obama took office.
At a press conference following talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak here on Wednesday, Mitchell said it's a strong signal that the U.S. administration is committed to the Mideast peace as he was delegated to the region just one week after Obama assumed office.
Alon Ben-Meir, a professor of international relations at New York University, echoed in a commentary article published Monday by Daily News Egypt that Mitchell's appointment is a positive sign of the Obama administration.
The appointment of Mitchell "is no doubt a positive sign of President Obama's commitment to the (Middle East) region, signaling that there will be immediate and direct American involvement in the Arab-Israeli peace negotiations."
Meanwhile, the new U.S. administration has also been trying to improve relations between the United States and the Muslim world, of which the Arabs are important parts.
At his inaugural address, Obama said "To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect."
In an interview with the Dubai-based Al-Arabiya news channel which aired on Tuesday, Obama said that his job for the Muslim world was to "communicate that the Americans are not your enemy."
HARD REALITIES FOR NEW MIDEAST POLICY
During Mitchell's week-long stay in the Middle East started on Tuesday, the U.S. envoy held intensive talks with leaders of Egypt, Israel, the Palestinians, Jordan and Saudi Arabia on the thorny issues of the region, particularly the recent conflict between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza.
Mitchell reiterated during the talks with the regional leaders that his country would support the efforts to reinforce the ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militant groups in Gaza, where Israel launched a 22-day military operation killing some 1, 400 Palestinians and wounding 5,500 others.
Despite of Mitchell's promise to help cement the ceasefire in Gaza and revive the peace talks, there have always existed some thorny issues for the U.S envoy to face with.
Although Israel and Hamas-led Palestinian groups carried out a ceasefire on Jan. 18 respectively, sporadic conflicts erupted from time to time between Israeli troops and Palestinian militants, causing bloodletting and casualties on both sides.
For the new U.S. administration, it has to take into consideration of the difficulties on the ground in a bid to launch its new policy toward the Middle East.
How to deal with Hamas, which has been labeled by the West as a terrorist group, is an important issue for the United States to reshape its Mideast policy.
Ben-Meir said "one of the urgent issues that Mitchell must grapple with is what to do with Hamas, especially in the wake of the Gaza war."
"Once it joins the Palestinian Authority in a unity government and potentially agree to embrace the Arab Peace Initiative and as long as the ceasefire is holding, the United States should then reconsider its position toward Hamas," said Ben-Meir.
Media reports expected that the result of the upcoming Israeli general election will also largely have impact on the Israeli policy against the Palestinians, thus the U.S. policy.
Meanwhile, the rift among various Palestinian groups also make it more difficult for the United States to mediate the Israeli- Palestinian conflict and their peace talks.
Under the sponsorship of Egypt, the talks for a durable ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinians and the inter- Palestinian dialogue have been carried out with uncertainties.
In a recent editorial entitled "What can we expect of Obama's envoy to the region", the influential Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahram played down the visit of Mitchell.
"As far as the (Palestinian) issue is under control so there is no hurry as it could be dealt with in a later stage," said the editorial.
"We are waiting for the participation in the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip," it said, adding "Then we will be waiting for the U.S. envoy to place the two warring parties at the negotiating table for reaching a just and durable peace" in the region.