Gen. PETRAEUS' WARNING

48. There appears to be a growing conviction within the Obama administration and more particularly in the Pentagon, that the failure to make tangible progress in resolving the Palestinian/Israel conflict is jeopardizing US interest - and the lives of U.S. servicemen and women - throughout the region, including Iraq and Afghanistan. In an Congressional testimony, a week after Biden's visit to Israel, the Chief of the U.S. Central Command (Centcom), Gen. David Petraeus, noted that the Israel/ Palestinian conflict foments anti-American sentiments, due to a "perceptions of U.S. favouritism for Israel" (understatement). He added that this conflict has "an enormous effect on the strategic context in which we operate" and that credible U.S. efforts on Arab/Israeli issues that provides regional governments and populations a way to achieve a comprehensive settlement of the disputes, would undercut Iran's policy of militant 'resistance', which the Iranian regime and insurgent groups have been free to exploit.