General Jones to Herzliya Conference: ““Let us not miss this historic opportunity”
“Let us not miss this historic opportunity [by making peace]; we will not be forgiven for doing so”
Former US National Security Advisor, Gen. Jones
Former US National Security Advisor, Gen. (ret) James L. Jones expressed the urgency needed in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. “The eyes of the world are on this region” said Jones. The peace process drives everything in the Middle East with implications that extend to the global arena.
Iran fears peace because this can resolve the driving problems in the region. “We are at a crossroads; maintaining the status quo or a two state solution.” The status quo is growing towards more and more extremism and greater isolation for Israel. “This will not only increase Israel’s economic burden but adversely effect the regional security and global security”
“National security is much broader today” The dangerous neighborhood no longer just refers to Israel but the whole world.
Ironically though, Jones explained, radical Iran has unified the globe and “we need to capitalize on this and use all our elements to prevent Iran from nuclear weapons.”
It is an issue of proactively creating history by doing all we can to create peace versus passively being a spectator to history and “letting the extremists continue to win the hearts and minds of the Arab youth and allow tyrannical regimes to succeed”.
about: The Herzliya Conference is the flagship of the Institute of Policy and Strategy (IPS) at the Lauder School of Government of IDC Herzliya. The Herzliya Conference addresses Israel’s national agenda by encouraging public debate and influencing the country’s public policy planning. This is achieved through convening Israeli and international elite policy makers, conducting cutting edge research, fostering a global network of contacts in a public forum by attracting the best and the brightest to take part in the conference and its discussions.