One of the great values of this statement is the use of date-specific language. Next year's General Assembly meeting will take place two months prior to what may be a very close election. Presumably, President Obama will want to do all he can to avoid being backed into the same diplomatic corner.
This is about as a dramatic as it gets for a General Assembly here at the United Nations. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas handed his application for membership to the United Nations to Ban Ki Moon.
Enter Nicholas Sarkozy, who seems to have come up with a clever compromise that can lead the United States and Palestinians out the this diplomatic mess.
The Palestinian president met with Ban Ki Moon today to formally submit his request for UN membership. Here are the next steps.
What people don't seem to be saying--at least not yet--is that should the ICC launch an investigation into crimes against humanity in Palestine, Palestinians will almost certainly be implicated as well.
We are entering into the home stretch of a period of frantic diplomacy surrounding the planned General Assembly vote on Palestine. A few things to keep in mind.