EDITORIAL: Tough on Israel, Washington Post, July 30, 2009

Reality on Israel: no hope with Netanyahu on 2-state solution, so why not stand hard on settlements in the meantime stalemate?

I mean, Israel's basic take on Obama is to wait him out. The danger comes in how Israel chooses to kill time--so to speak.

But the larger reality: we can't stop Iran's reach for bomb and neither will Israeli strikes, which will only delay the inevitable strategic talks, which Saudi Arabia and Turkey are destined to--and should--join.

Managing Israel's migration to that negotiation point will be a lot harder than managing Iran's, but expect worse near-term relations with each. The SALT-like talks are 2-3 years away, and this is going to be a bumpy ride.