The Washington-based center, regarded as an ally of the Obama
administration, has been planning a study that would pave the way for U.S.
reconciliation with Hizbullah, which killed more than 300 Americans in a
series of suicide bombings in the early 1980s. The think tank said its study
would be presented to "senior U.S. policymakers in the administration", Middle East Newsline reported.
"It is highly possible that the link with the Obama administration is
exaggerated, but this indeed does come from the White House's favorite think
tank," Barry Rubin, director of Israel's Global Research in International
Affairs Center, said.
Rubin said the Center for American Progress requested his views on how
Washington could deal with Hizbullah "short of engagement." He quoted the
letter as saying the center wanted to know whether "Israeli leaders see
benefit in the U.S. talking with Hizbullah about issues which are of crucial
importance to Israel?"
In an address in August 2009, Brennan characterized Hizbullah as a group
that has evolved from a "purely terrorist organization in the early 1980s."
He said many in Hizbullah have been renouncing terrorism although the core
of the group remains terrorist.
"I'm pleased to see that a lot of Hizbullah individuals are in fact
renouncing that type of terrorism and violence and are trying to participate
in the political process in a very legitimate fashion," Brennan told the
Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Rubin said the Center for American Progress planned to issue a report
that would recommend U.S. engagement with Hizbullah. He said the center
turned to him to provide a token opposition voice. The center has not
formally responded.
"I read this letter — and that impression is confirmed by those
knowledgeable about this project and those involved — as saying that the
Center for American Progress is going to issue a report calling for U.S.
engagement with Hizbullah, and that it has been encouraged to do so by
important officials in the Obama administration," Rubin said.