John Kerry Makes Eleventh Trip of Year to Mid East, Still Looking For Peace Process Breakthrough

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For the 11th time this year, US Secretary of State John Kerry returned to the Middle East to help advance the Palestinian-Israeli peace talks. His efforts this time are directed at the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to convince him of the feasibility of his ideas regarding an Israeli military presence in the Jordan Valley within the context of peace.

To make his ideas appealing, Kerry brought with him Marine Corps Gen. (retd.) John Allen, who heads a 160-strong US defense and intelligence team that has drawn up a scheme for the day after an Israeli-Palestinian final agreement. Although the American side talked to the Israelis about these ideas, the Israeli government has yet to buy in to the idea of military presence for a specific time.