Obama Jumps The Gun, Calls Palestinian President

Okay, a lot of people are going to give me shit for jumping on Barack Hussein Obama for this little phone chat he had with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas about Middle East peace initiatives but I will explain in a little bit here. Here's some details from the brief article at Breitbart:

A Palestinian negotiator says U.S. President-elect Barack Obama has called the Palestinian president and told him that peace is a vital interest for Israelis and Palestinians.
Negotiator Saeb Erekat says the phone call took place Tuesday.
Erekat says Obama told President Mahmoud Abbas that he will spare no effort to facilitate a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.

Okay, there you have it. Now, for one thing, the Middle East is still probably the most volatile region of the entire world and Obama, who isn't even in office yet, has shown his hand - he sent a message to Abbas that he, Obama, is desperate for a peace agreement. It's my opinion that Abbas hung that phone up, smiled, and thought to himself...."this is a guy I can use to get what we want."

Now, here's the other reason that Obama jumped the gun. The Israelis are going to be putting in place a new prime minister and there are indications that Benjamin Netanyahu just may be that person - and Netanyahu has already stated that he will NOT conduct peace talks with Abbas under the current set of parameters. So, Obama has played his hand and one of the critical players in the scenario is certainly not on the same page.

And finally, look at this from the article:

Also, Abbas faces a new political showdown with rival Hamas in January when the Islamic militants say his term expires.

Think about it. What if Abbas is thrown out of office? That would mean that Obama has called a leader who is a non-player, with Obama showing his hand before he even knows the result. Bottom line here is Barack Hussein Obama made his intentions known to one of two leaders involved in the peace process who might not even hold office and Obama's intentions may conflict with the other leader that may possibly be the other player in a few months.

Rookie mistake by Obama? Yes. But in the Middle East, there is no room for mistakes.

Obama calls Palestinian leader, says peace vital

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) - A Palestinian negotiator says U.S. President-elect Barack Obama has called the Palestinian president and told him that peace is a vital interest for Israelis and Palestinians.
Negotiator Saeb Erekat says the phone call took place Tuesday.
Erekat says Obama told President Mahmoud Abbas that he will spare no effort to facilitate a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.
A year of U.S.-backed talks has not yielded tangible results and the fate of the negotiations is uncertain.
Israel is holding elections in February. Opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu has said he would not continue peace talks in the current format. Also, Abbas faces a new political showdown with rival Hamas in January when the Islamic militants say his term expires.