Daniel R. DePetris
When asked on September 2 what made him believe a deal to end the war in Gaza would be successful, President Joe Biden answered in a way that revealed just how desperate the U.S.-led mediation effort has become: "Hope springs eternal."
How Biden can find even a morsel of hope at this point is difficult to grasp. CIA Director Bill Burns was far more level-headed about the endgame in Gaza, stressing that Israel and Hamas will need to come to difficult political compromises if talks are to work out. So far that hasn't happened. Even the efforts of the most dedicated mediators can fall flat if the main protagonists have no intention of moving from their core positions.
The United States is learning in real time what it should have known already: What the mediators want is largely irrelevant if the combatants are content with staring each other down and waiting for the other to blink.
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