Courtesy of The Global Education Project

We at USDemocrazy have decided that we’re OK with not being a great world power. After all, it sounds like a lot of work.

Take the US, who has been dealing with its status as a world superpower for a while now. As the big dog in the neighborhood, the US is policing conflicts big and small around the globe (with mixed success).

There is no bigger, messier, more dogged dogfight than that between the Israelis and Palestinians in the Middle East.

On Monday President Obama joined the fray. The White House hosted Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to discuss the future of the Holy Land.

Though Prime Minister Netanyahu told the President he is ready for peace talks with neighboring Palestine, the Israeli leader also included some “My way or the Highway” conditions to any negotiations.

Indeed, Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat expressed how he saw any talks between the two states to be doomed from the start when he stated:

There is a difference between being a tough negotiator and a non-negotiator. What I heard today was a non-negotiator.

So… how does a superpower handle such a super problem?

Solutions to this conflict have eluded every US President thus far. But Obama seems determined to engage and pursue a peace settlement between the two antagonists.

Some people, like the guys and gals over at Time, wonder if there are just some fundamental issues that neither Obama nor Netanyahu will find much common ground on.

Such a complex issue requires some answers from some of the smart people in the biz… and so we’re gonna have to turn you elsewhere. Start here for a quick history on US diplomacy when dealing with Israel, then go here for a cut-and-dry explanation of the Gaza conflict and its recent ceasefires.

While we continue to be glad no one values our opinion high enough to be in on these negotiations, we’re searching for your opinions on the subject! Can the young administrations of all parties find a way out of this mess?