"The road to everywhere else starts in Jerusalem," said retired Marine Gen. Anthony Zinni, the former commander of the U.S. Central Command.

Speaking to an audience of about 200 students and faculty members in Goldwin Smith Hall's Hollis E. Cornell Auditorium April 21, Zinni called the Israeli-Palestinian conflict "a core issue" in the global geopolitical landscape. But while the prospects for a settlement in the near future look bleak, he said, "there are glimmers of opportunities out there ... little positive things ... I think maybe those ashes and sparks can be fanned a bit and maybe something will catch on."

Now in his second year as a Frank H.T. Rhodes Class of 1956 Professor, Zinni reflected on his experiences as a mediator in conflicts around the world and offered his thoughts on the best ways the United States can help promote peace in the region.

"We [the U.S.] have to change our approach," he said. Instead of using envoys that are in the region temporarily, for example, he advocated a permanent presence in the region -- including working groups to tackle individual issues from water rights to border security -- that would be committed to the process over the long run.

And unlike the current system, the onus for designing a peace plan should lie with the two parties, he said, not with the mediator.

"You ensure the parties develop the plan and the implementation because they have to live with it -- their children have to live with it," he said. "We have to make the parties roll up their sleeves and commit to this process."

Countries from the region should have more representation in the negotiations, he added, and there should always be unofficial talks as well as official negotiations to allow for a freer exchange of ideas.

Zinni said he is encouraged by President Barack Obama's willingness to take on the issue so early in his administration. But he warned that the process will be a long one.

"I hope that unlike other administrations, if [Obama] sees it not going anywhere, he doesn't quit the process -- because it's too easy to get frustrated ... and walk away from it," he said. "You have to stick it through."

After his talk Zinni took questions on issues ranging from whether the United States should continue to use private contractors in war zones (yes, but with regulations) to whether U.S. involvement can be counterproductive in negotiations ("Sure," he said; sometimes the most effective mediator is a private citizen).

On questions about the elements of the conflict itself, he remained steadfastly neutral. "That's not a mediator's job," he said. "I can't make judgments or I'm useless ... as a mediator."

Zinni retired from the military in 2000; his service as a U.S. marine took him to more than 70 countries, and he has participated in presidential diplomatic missions to Somalia, Pakistan, Ethiopia and Eritrea; and State Department missions for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and conflicts in Indonesia and the Philippines.

The Frank H.T. Rhodes Class of '56 University Professorship was created by the Class of 1956 in honor of Cornell's ninth president. Rhodes professors are appointed for three years with the possibility of a renewal for two additional years and are considered full members of the Cornell faculty.