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Washington (CNN) — Direct peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians will start Thursday as President Obama urged both sides to come up with a peaceful solution to the long-running Mideast conflict.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is set to play the main role in the talks by hosting a meeting Thursday at the State Department with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas.

The two sides will be relaunching talks that have been stalled for a year and a half.

On the eve of the talks, Obama held a working dinner with Abbas, Netanyahu, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Jordan’s King Abdullah II.

“I am hopeful — cautiously hopeful, but hopeful — that we can achieve the goal that all four of these leaders articulated,” Obama said before dinner.

Video: Netanyahu: I didn’t come to make excuses

Video: Abbas: We recognize challenges ahead

Video: Key players in Mideast peace talks

Video: Politics of water in the Middle East

Clinton and Middle East Quartet Representative Tony Blair also attended the dinner. The Quartet consists of the United States, Russia, the United Nations and the European Union.

Netanyahu and Abbas reiterated their goal to come up with a solution and condemned attacks against the Israelis in recent days.

“We don’t seek a brief interlude between two wars, we don’t seek a temporary respite between outbursts of terror,” Netanyahu said. “We seek a peace that will end the conflict between us once and for all… for our generation, our children’s generation and the next.”

Abbas said it was time to end the bloodshed from Israelis and Palestinians.

“We want peace between the two countries … let us sign a formal agreement for peace and put an end to this long period of suffering forever,” he said.

As the talks begin, other issues loom. One immediate threat is the September 26 expiration of Israel’s 10-month freeze on settlement construction in the West Bank.

Another roadblock is the Palestinian view that any two-state solution must include a handover of all the land Israel captured in the 1967 war, along with East Jerusalem as the Palestinian capital.

While Netanyahu has expressed openness about a Palestinian state, he also has strong opposition to a Palestinian takeover of East Jerusalem.

Hamas’ control of Gaza also remains a “major problem,” Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat said.

While Gaza is generally considered to be part of any future Palestinian state, Hamas has refused to recognize Israel’s right to exist and is not a part of the talks.

Leaders of Hamas are frequently in conflict with the more moderate Abbas and his Fatah organization, which has the upper hand in the West Bank.

With the U.S. war in Iraq drawing to a close, the Middle East has moved front and center for administration officials.

In earlier remarks from the White House Rose Garden, Obama said that “this moment of opportunity may not soon come again.” However, he also pointed to challenges ahead.

“We are under no illusions,” he said. “Passions run deep … there’s a reason that the two-state solution has eluded previous generations — this is extraordinarily complex and extraordinarily difficult.”

Several top officials close to the negotiations told CNN that it is hard to be optimistic about a peace deal at the moment. They downplayed expectations, saying that nobody directly involved in the talks expects a deal to be reached this week. But simply resuming talks was a critical step, and a comprehensive Middle East peace deal has been one of Obama’s top foreign policy goals, they said.

CNN’s Ed Henry, Alan Silverleib, Hala Gorani and David Molko contributed to this report

Mideast leaders call for end to violence

Washington (CNN) — If this week’s Mideast peace talks brokered by the Obama administration go well, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is offering to host a second round of talks later this month in his country, according to two officials close to the talks.

The officials stressed to CNN that nothing is firm yet and there is a lot of progress that still needs to be accomplished starting with a dinner President Barack Obama is hosting Wednesday night with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the Old Family Dining Room of the White House.

Mubarak also is attending the dinner along with King Abdullah of Jordan, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Mideast Quartet Representative Tony Blair. On Thursday, Clinton will be hosting Abbas and Netanyahu at the State Department in Washington for the actual start of direct talks between the two parties for the first time in nearly two years.

Ambassador Soliman Awaad, a spokesman for Mubarak, told reporters late Wednesday that Egypt is ready to host a second round of discussions between Abbas and Netanyahu at some point between now and September 26, when Israel’s 10-month moratorium on Jewish settlement construction in the West Bank will expire.

Abbas has declared that the peace talks will end if Israel does not extend the freeze on settlements, while Netanyahu is under great pressure within his country to end the moratorium altogether, just one of many difficult issues to be worked out.

Awaad warned that if the moratorium is not extended then “all bets are off” in terms of negotiations.

Egypt might host second round of Mideast peace talks

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(CNN) — U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and Defense Secretary Robert Gates helped usher in the next chapter for the United States in Iraq on Wednesday, presiding over a ceremony launching a new military operation designed to train, assist and advise the Iraqis.

The ceremony, held at Al Faw Palace in Baghdad, marked the conclusion of the U.S. combat mission dubbed Operation Iraqi Freedom and the transfer to the assistance mission, named Operation New Dawn.

Army Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III replaced Gen. Raymond T. Odierno as commander of U.S. Forces-Iraq in the changeover, held at one of the many palaces of late Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein — whose regime was ousted from power in the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Biden said Operation Iraqi Freedom is over, but promised that “American engagement with Iraq will continue” with the new stability mission.

“This change of mission, to state the obvious, would never have been possible without the resolve and tremendous sacrifice and competence of our military — the finest, if our Iraqi friends will forgive us, the finest fighting force in the world, and I would argue the finest fighting force that ever has existed,” Biden said.

He acknowledged the pain Iraqis endured during the long war, saying tens of thousands of troops and civilians died, and many more were wounded and displaced.

Video: Jones: Not going to be reckless

Video: Begala: Bush told lies about Iraq

Video: Robert Gates talks Iraq

Video: Ex-POW on troop withdrawal

However, he said, “I believe that their darkest days are now behind them.”

Noting the divided opinion toward the war in the United States, he said people from both parties had always backed the troops for their “extraordinary service” after “a high-speed invasion that toppled a tyrant became a grinding struggle against violent extremists.”

“Our fighting men and women were given a mission in Iraq that was as complicated as any in our history, an assignment that taught us that war is the realm of uncertainty,” he said. “Troops steeped in military doctrine were asked to deal with challenges ranging from electricity to unemployment, currency exchange to trash collection.”

The vice president also praised the new electoral system in Iraq, urging political parties there to settle their differences and form a government soon.

“Iraqis have cast their lot as well as their ballots for a better future,” he said.

Biden highlighted Gates’ contributions, saying the defense secretary’s decision to serve under both Republican and Democratic administrations during the war is a testament to his patriotism.

Odierno, who said Iraqi security forces are ready to take the lead there, recalled the wartime period as one of Iraqi heroism.

“This period in Iraq’s history will probably be remembered for sacrifice, resiliency and change. However, I remember it as a time in which the Iraqi people stood up against tyranny, terrorism and extremism, and decided to determine their own destiny, as a people and as a democratic state,” he said.

As Biden did, Odierno urged Iraqi political blocs to form a government, which has yet to be established since elections six months ago.

“It is time for Iraq to move forward,” Odierno said.

Odierno said a democratic Iraq “can become an engine for peace and stability” in the Middle East.

“We can no longer dwell on our past accomplishments, but must remain focused on the tremendous opportunity at hand. Iraq has always played a vital role in this uncertain part of the globe,” he said.

Austin said Iraq still faces hostile threats from insurgents working to undermine the country. But he said that “the past few years in Iraq have been marked by steady progress” and he envisions a “stable, secure and unified Iraq.”

“Operation New Dawn marks the next phase of an enduring relationship” between the United States and Iraq, he said.

While the U.S. combat mission is ending, roughly 50,000 American troops will remain in the country until the end of 2011 for the assistance mission.

When asked Wednesday if the United States is still at war in Iraq, Gates responded, “No, we’re not.” Gates added it is up to historians to determine whether the war was worth it.

Along with U.S. political and military dignitaries, Iraqi officials — including Interior Minister Jawad al-Bolani, Defense Minister Mohammed Abdul Qader al-Obeidi and the Kurdish region’s Prime Minister Barham Saleh — attended the ceremony.

The U.S. combat mission in Iraq officially ended at 5 p.m. ET Tuesday. The drawdown and end to the U.S. combat phase marks a new page in what has been a controversial seven-year conflict. Weapons of mass destruction, a major justification by the Bush administration for going to war, were never found. Saddam Hussein was toppled, along with his massive Baghdad statue, but sectarian violence soon erupted.

On Tuesday night, U.S. President Barack Obama addressed Americans about the transition in a televised speech.

“The United States has paid a huge price to put the future of Iraq in the hands of its people,” Obama said from the Oval Office. “We have sent our young men and women to make enormous sacrifices in Iraq, and spent vast resources abroad at a time of tight budgets at home. We have persevered because of a belief we share with the Iraqi people — a belief that out of the ashes of war, a new beginning could be born in this cradle of civilization.”

The war in Iraq has claimed the lives of more than 4,400 U.S. troops.

Obama said he was “awed” by the sacrifices of service members and their families and that the U.S. has met its responsibility.

“Operation Iraqi Freedom is over, and the Iraqi people now have lead responsibility for the security of their country,” Obama said. “We have removed nearly 100,000 U.S. troops from Iraq. We have closed or transferred hundreds of bases to the Iraqis. And we have moved millions of pieces of equipment out of Iraq.”

Before Obama’s speech, some Republicans had urged him to acknowledge that the 2007 U.S. troop surge in Iraq ordered by then-President George W. Bush had worked. Obama, as a U.S. senator and candidate for the presidency, had opposed it.

Obama, who spoke with Bush in a phone call earlier in the day, did not mention the former president’s role in the surge.

Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, delivered a speech Tuesday suggesting Bush deserves more credit for reaching this milestone.

“You might recall that the surge wasn’t very popular when it was announced,” McConnell said. “You might also recall that one of its biggest critics was the current president. So it makes it easier to talk about fulfilling a campaign promise to wind down our operations in Iraq when the previous administration signs the security agreement with Iraq to end our overall presence there.”

Obama said the most urgent matter now is restoring the economy and “putting millions of Americans who have who have lost their jobs back to work.”

To strengthen the middle class, he said, “we must give all our children the education they deserve, and all our workers the skills that they need to compete in a global economy.”

Obama’s emphasis on the economy appears to dovetail with the mood of the American public.

In a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll earlier this month, 56 percent of respondents said the economy would be extremely important to their vote for Congress this year. Fewer than four in 10 said that the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan were extremely important to them.

CNN’s Ed Henry, Dan Lothian, Dana Bash, Jason Hanna and Alan Silverleib contributed to this report.

Biden marks transfer of U.S. command in Iraq

Washington (CNN) — Fresh off a major speech on Iraq, President Obama on Wednesday turns his attention to the extremely difficult task of trying to broker Mideast peace, with his special envoy declaring there is a “window of opportunity” for Israeli and Palestinian leaders to achieve an historic deal within one year.

Former Sen. George Mitchell, Obama’s special envoy for Middle East Peace, told reporters at a briefing Tuesday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas are paying close attention to polls in the Mideast which show fear there will be many more years of intense conflict if negotiations over a two-state solution collapse.

“Now, I believe that it is an awareness of these and other realities by the two leaders and their leadership that there is a window of opportunity,” said Mitchell. “A moment in time within which there remains the possibility of achieving the two-state solution, which is so essential to comprehensive peace in the region, that — difficult as it may be for both leaders, and we recognize that difficulty for both of them — the alternatives for them and the members of their societies pose far greater difficulties and far greater problems in the future.”

Several top officials close to the negotiations said it is hard to be optimistic about a peace deal right now, but hope springs eternal because at least the Israelis and Palestinians are meeting again after a year and a half of stalled talks. And Obama is getting more personally invested in the process this week because achieving a deal is one of his administration’s top foreign policy goals.

The officials close to the negotiations say that nobody directly involved in the talks is expecting an actual peace treaty to be brokered this week, over the course of two days of negotiations between Netanyahu and Abbas. They are joined by other key players from the region coming to Washington to move the talks along, including Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and King Abdullah of Jordan.

Instead, officials are hopeful that by the end of the talks on Thursday there will be a statement revealing that a second round of talks will begin in the near future, possibly in the Middle East in order to build international confidence that they’re able to move the talks along without being too dependent on the United States to keep pushing it.

“The biggest breakthrough would be an agenda [emerging Thursday] for a second round of meetings soon to move forward,” said one top official actively engaged in the talks.

Mitchell is acutely aware of the need for the United States to walk a careful balance of staying engaged in the talks but not overwhelming or overshadowing the Israelis and Palestinians.

The envoy said there needs to be “active and sustained United States participation so that we are not on some distant sideline cheering the parties on without active participation, but at the same time we recognize that this is a bilateral negotiation, and in the end the parties must make this decision by and for themselves.”

There are all kinds of potential roadblocks to a deal, including the fact that the Palestinian view of having its own state includes getting back the land Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war, and the Palestinians want East Jerusalem to serve as its capital. Netanyahu has expressed openness about a Palestinian state in theory, but that support would come with heavy conditions, including a desire to not let the Palestinians take East Jerusalem.

Another big impediment could come from the fact that Israel’s 10-month moratorium on Jewish settlement construction in the West Bank will expire September 26. Abbas has declared that the peace negotiations will end if Israel does not extend the freeze, while Netanyahu is under great pressure within his country to end the moratorium.

“Our position on settlements is well known, and it remains unchanged,” Mitchell said Tuesday when asked about the moratorium. “We’ve always made clear that the parties should promote an environment that is conducive to negotiations.”

Mitchell also declared that Obama has taken a very active, personal role in trying to broker a deal in public as well as in private and said he “will continue to be fully and actively a participant in the process, as necessary. He has many, many important obligations, but he places a high priority on comprehensive peace in the Middle East.

That personal engagement intensifies Wednesday as Obama holds a series of one-on-one meetings with Netanyahu, Abbas, King Abdullah, as well as President Mubarak. After that series of meetings, Obama will make a public statement without the other leaders at the White House.

Later on Wednesday, Obama will make another public statement at the White House but this time he is expected to be joined by the four leaders. Then the five of them will have a private dinner at the White House, joined by former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who now serves as the Quartet representative trying to help make progress toward Mideast peace. The Middle East Quartet consists of the United States, Russia, the United Nations and the European Union.

Then on Thursday, Obama will pull back from a direct role and have Secretary of State Hillary Clinton convene a meeting at the State Department between Netanyahu, Abbas, and their delegations. Follow that meeting, Mitchell is expected to make a public statement revealing where the negotiations stand.

Mitchell reiterated that the president is confident, based in part by public and private statements from both Netanyahu and Abbas, that a final deal could be achieved within one year. “We think it is realistic,” he said. “We think it can be done.”

Mitchell added, “It’s very important to create a sense that this has a definite concluding point,” he said. “And we believe that it can be done and we will do everything possible, with perseverance and patience and determination, to see that it is done.”

Mitchell: ‘Window of opportunity’ in Mideast

(CNN) — Additional National Guard troops assigned to the Mexican border under President Barack Obama’s border security initiative have started reporting to their posts, officials said Monday.

More than 30 National Guard members have begun their deployment as part of the administration’s border protection plan, according to Special Agent Mario Escalante with U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Troops will continue to arrive over the next two months, with an expected force of 532 members by the end of October, said Lt. Valentine Castillo of the Arizona National Guard.

Top Republicans — including Arizona Sen. John McCain and Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer — have repeatedly accused Obama of failing to provide sufficient security along the U.S.-Mexico border.

The president signed a bill on August 13 providing $600 million in emergency funding to help secure the border.

Among other things, the bill provides for roughly 1,500 new law enforcement agents, new unmanned aerial vehicles, new forwarding operating bases, and $14 million in new communications equipment.

Predator Unmanned Aerial System flights will begin Wednesday out of Corpus Christi, Texas, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced Monday. Those flights will give the department unmanned aerial capabilities from California to the Gulf of Mexico in Texas.

Castillo said the troops participating in the operation will be assisting Customs and Border Protection with criminal intelligence and entry identifications. They will not have law enforcement powers, he said.

CNN’s David Alsup and Devon Sayers contributed to this report.

More Guard troops deployed to Arizona border

Washington (CNN) — Before President Obama says a word during his Tuesday Oval Office address, the backdrop will make a statement for him: that he is the decider.

Obama is set to give his second Oval Office address, a speech meant to mark the end of combat missions in Iraq. But besides the remarks he will make, the setting of his speech will convey something, too.

“The Oval Office invokes the center of the presidential authority. That’s the president’s office, that’s where he supposedly makes decisions, where he governs,” says presidential historian Robert Dallek.

“[When] a talk to the nation is given from that office, [it] is underscoring his executive powers, his leadership.”

Video: U.S. combat role comes to an end

The Oval Office symbolizes power, command, and authority, Dallek said. It shows the president, “as George W. Bush put it, is the ‘decider’ ” and that symbolism is important.

For example, former President George H.W. Bush announced the start of the first Gulf war from the Oval Office, telling Americans and the world that he was the commander in chief just by setting the scene in the Oval Office.

And on the night of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, former President George W. Bush spoke to the American people from the Oval Office, to show he was in command and to reassure the nation.

Dallek points out the differences between giving a speech in the Oval Office versus a speech in a different venue.

For example, Obama’s speech in front of the joint session of Congress a year ago conveyed his desire to get Congress to act on health care reform.

“A joint session of Congress has a different function,” Dallek said. A speech in front of both the Senate and House shows the president is “trying to convince Congress to join with him.”

When Obama addressed both chambers in September 2009, the health care debate was still waging. He called for bipartisan proposals to address health care reform and focused attention on the issue, on Congress and on the presidency.

An Oval Office address is different. The prime-time address focuses the attention singularly on the subject matter.

“Presidents don’t give speeches from the Oval Office casually,” Dallek said. “It’s given with forethought and consideration. So the fact that he’s giving the current speech about the end of America’s combat role in Iraq is something that he wishes to emphasize and underscore and in a sense I think it’s a demonstration of his completion of his mission or fulfillment of a commitment that he made.”

Because of the singular focus on the subject matter during Obama’s Tuesday evening address, Obama will have to navigate the tricky road of marking the end of a war he did not support and honoring the lives of all the Americans killed in the war, Dallek said.

Obama must use a “certain amount of domestic diplomacy to bring the war to a close; you don’t just end the war and say it’s a mistake. It’s unpalatable because of all the deaths,” Dallek said.

So Obama must do it in a way that is “politically palatable to the American public — that is at the heart” of his address Tuesday, Dallek said.

The Oval Office will also help convey a sense of intimacy of the message. Since former President Jimmy Carter, each president has delivered his farewell address from that room, using the office of the presidency to say goodbye to the American public.

President Reagan used the intimate space to comfort the public after space shuttle Challenger exploded in 1986.

President Johnson used the room in 1968 to tell Americans he would not seek re-election and President Nixon gave several speeches regarding the Watergate scandal, including his decision to resign from the presidency in the wake of Watergate in 1974.

Obama’s other Oval Office address was two months ago to address the nation about the Gulf oil disaster.

And who does the presidential historian think was most successful at intimate talks to the American people?

Franklin Roosevelt’s fireside addresses — although there were no televisions at the time, these radio talks were effective in boosting the country’s confidence.

Obama speech setting sends message

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