New Secretary of State John Kerry shows his first diplomatic passport he got when he was eleven years old when his father was in the foreign service, Monday, Feb. 4, 2013, during a ceremony welcoming him as the 68th secretary of state, at the State Department in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
New Secretary of State John Kerry shows his first diplomatic passport he got when he was eleven years old when his father was in the foreign service, Monday, Feb. 4, 2013, during a ceremony welcoming him as the 68th secretary of state, at the State Department in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, shakes hands with Israeli President Simon Peres during a brief ceremony in the president' Jerusalem residence Saturday Feb. 2, 2013. Israel's president has asked Netanyahu to form the next government, and Netanyahu says he wants to advance peace talks with the Palestinians. (AP Photo/Jim Hollander, Pool)
President Barack Obama shakes hands with invited guests after he brought his gun violence proposals on the road to Minneapolis, Monday, Feb. 4, 2013, at the Minneapolis Police Department's Special Operations Center, where he outlined his plan before law enforcement personnel. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)
Nearly all American presidents since the 1970s have tried to broker peace deals in the Middle East. With John Kerry now at the State Department helm, President Barack Obama may try again.
But as other presidents and Obama himself have learned, it's an elusive goal ? often seeming within grasp then receding.
There have been some successes ? Egypt signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1979 that President Jimmy Carter helped negotiate, and Jordan signed one with Israel in 1994 under President Bill Clinton's efforts.
But both Clinton and President George W. Bush later failed in second-term efforts to broker an Israeli-Palestinian peace.
Obama tried to restart new direct Israel-Palestinian peace talks in September 2010, but negotiations stalled largely over the expansion of Jewish West Bank settlements.
Kerry, who will be ceremonially sworn in Wednesday as secretary of state, has indicated a keen interest in a new diplomatic push in the region.
Of course, secretaries of state don't make foreign policy; president's do. So a lot depends on how much leeway Obama gives him.
"We need to find a way forward, and I happen to believe there is a way forward" toward an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel, Kerry told his Senate confirmation hearing.
He spoke over the weekend by phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli President Shimon Peres and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Netanyahu has said he wants to advance peace talks with the Palestinians.
On Tuesday, Kerry visited the department's Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, where he discussed recent developments in the region including the U.S. role in Libya.
Kerry is likely to make Israel and other Middle Eastern nations early travel destinations. And there's speculation an Obama trip that includes Israel may not be far behind ? although the White House has not announced one.
Obama has yet to travel to Israel as president, although he visited in 2008 as a candidate. He has since gone to Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Iraq.
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