A radical Mideast proposal: What if the U.S. recognized a Palestinian state now?

U.S. President Bill Clinton presides over the 1993 peace accords signed at the White House by Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin (left) and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. The aim was a negotiated deal ending decades of conflict between the two sides. But no agreement was reached. Today there's talk about recognizing a Palestinian state first and then negotiating the details afterward. (Ron Edmonds/AP)

When Israel declared statehood in 1948, U.S. President Harry Truman gave his endorsement just 11 minutes later, making the United States the first country to recognize Israel as a nation.

"But don't think that decision to recognize Israel was an easy one," Truman said in a video filmed after he left the White House. "What I was trying to do was to find a homeland for the Jews and still be just with the Arabs."