Sitting in a bistro today, I listened to two couples next to me argue about Israel's actions in Gaza and the role the US ought to play in that conflict.

One of the women spoke at length about isolating the extremists in Palestine and the rest of the Arab world by seeking an "objective, multilateral" solution. Another man spoke similarly about assuaging the existential insecurities of the extremists within Israel.

'Multilateral' is thrown around awfully casually these days. Her solution, and solutions like hers aimed at isolating and dividing segments of Arab opinion, are precisely what is fueling the regional animosity towards Israel. A multilateral solution does not mean some territorial compromise or a two-state solution; multilateralism calls for give-and-take on all sides involved in the conflict (hence the multi- part). Israeli and Palestinian interests are only a small part of a much larger picture. America's need to influence events in the Middle-East and to use Israel to respond rapidly to crises threatening American energy interests lies on one side; the collective Arab and Persian desire for less American influence on the region (and, by implication, the desire to increase their own regional clout) lies on the other.

The very act of isolating extremists and appealing to different segments of the political spectrum is an exercise of American influence on the region. In appealing to moderates, America exacerbates the fears of the more radical forces in the region like the Iranian leadership; in appealing to moderates, America actively demonstrates that it can influence events in the Middle-East as well as protect its interests at the expense of the interests of those in the region; in appealing to moderates, America will inflame the conflict. The Arab states and Iran are reacting against American influence in the region, and American efforts aimed at dividing the Middle-Eastern states and fomenting internal dissent is exactly the sort of influence that prompts anti-Israeli policy designed to curb America's power over the region.

At its core, the Israel Question is a struggle between the actors in the Middle-East and America. America can successfully defuse situations in the Middle-East; in doing so, the US flexes its muscle over its sphere-of-influence, solving short term conflicts while creating long term problems. Until America can restrain itself from not only intervening in the Middle-East by proxy or directly, but from even feeling the need to project power into that region, Israel and her neighbors will always be at war.

This blog has long allied itself with those who call for America to research and pursue energy sources like nuclear power or other green energies. Unlike our allies, this blog has justified a 'greener' US on security concerns. This is one of them. An America that does not feel the need (and therefore does not actively project power into the Middle-East) to protect energy interests in the Middle-East is an America that will see Israel-Arab dialogue become warmer.