It is in the history and traditions of America to spread democracy and liberty. It is in America's best interests to recognize the foreign state of Palestine on Friday, 9/23/11, or at a minimum not veto the recognition of Palestine by the United Nations Security Council.
Nothing in the Middle East will change without a firm push, and the ripples of this can spread outward dramatically. Take away the main claimed "public" reason that Arab nations oppose Israel: give the Palestinian people a right to their homes in the West Bank and Gaza. They have been refugees since the 1940s.
The United Nations granted the Jewish people a land after the Holocaust, and the United Nations and the United States have an obligation to do the same for the Palestinians now as well.