Once Again Obama Shows His Antipathy Towards Israel

I have been asked by several people to comment on the Obama speech yesterday. I have been trying to get my arms around how to say what I truly feel about his stewardship of American Foreign Policy with respect to the Middle East . . . without sounding like a Neocon, which I am not. I'll do my best, but please forgive me if I go over the line a bit . . .

First of all, I believe the President knew exactly what he was doing when he made that speech and what he was doing, in my opinion, is publicly tacking the US away from Israel in an effort to show neutrality. This is why Obama did not consult our close ally, Israel, before making a speech about Israel's future. That and the personal animosity he has for the Prime Minister of Israel.

Obama so wants to "get something done" in the Middle East. In my humble opinion, it is the height of arrogance for him to say that he has been working at this for two whole years and there is nothing to show for it. And, the US and the World, are sick and tired of the lack of progress. Has our President not read any of the history of this conflict? Is Obama not aware that the Palestinians have walked away from the opportunity to have a state several times, most recently in 2000 when it was handed to them on a platter by Clinton and Rabin? Is Obama aware that other US Administrations have put considerable effort into trying to reach a peace deal between the parties? Does Obama think he posesses some special well of knowledge and wisdom that puts him above the people who came before him.

I will leave that question open for others to answer because honestly this is not about Obama. Maybe I will blog on Obama another time . . .

This is about making peace (which even Obama acknowledged is impossible under current circumstances with a Palestinian unity government forming that consists of rejectionists and will be controlled by people who prefer the gun to the pen). And, it is about securing the future of what our President keeps repeating is a key ally of ours that we will stand up for.

Let me ask you a simple question . . . if you were Israel, how much stock would you put into a promise from Obama that the US thinks it is really important that the Palestinian state is de-militarized? Where has the US been since 2005 with respect to Gaza? Israel pulled out of Gaza in 2005 and has suffered a nearly constant rain of rockets and mortars into civilian population areas since then. If the US wants credibility on this issue, we have had six years to show the Israelis that we can deliver a de-militarized Palestinian state in Gaza . . . and we have failed to do anything other than criticize Israel for at least attempting to ensure that weapons don't freely flow into Gaza.

Let me ask you another question . . . for the moment taking aside the issue of defensibility of borders, which is a huge issue for a country as small as Israel . . . Obama says the US thinks that Israel needs to go back to the pre-1967 boundaries, with a few land swaps here and there . . . In what universe does the party that lost a war get a deal like that 45 years after they lost the war? They get all their land back, with a few adjustments, after 45 years of rejectionist politics? The Palestinians are certainly entitled to a state, but they lost the war. And, they have consistently rejected attempts by Israel to end the conflict by making major concessions. And, the US President wants to reward this by giving them back all the territory they had before the war?

The Palestinians will never get the message that their fate is in their own hands if Western politicians continually ride to their rescue like this. They need to take it on board that nobody is going to save them from themselves and that if they want to get on with their lives, they need to get serious about making peace . . . with Israel. If they think the US or European Union will go to bat for them against Israel, they will sit back and wait a bit longer, another decade or two . . . and continue to reject even the idea of face to face meetings.

It is beyond me that this President does not seem to grasp the dynamics of this negotiation.

Circling back to defensible borders and real facts on the ground . . . the time to make peace based on pre-67 borders is long past. Those borders are not defensible. Anyone who visits Israel instantly recognizes this fact. On top of that, through their actions over the last 12 years, the Palestinians have made it impossible for any Israeli Prime Minister to agree to take that risk. The President of the United States should know enough to acknowledge this fact. And, somebody (besides Israel) needs to tell the Palestinians. Also, the only time Israel has been willing to make major security concessions for peace is when they have felt secure in their relationship with the US. Obama, and his speechifying are not making the Israelis feel warm and fuzzy about their relationship with this country. So, bottom line is that Obama has basically stabbed the peace process through the heart with his speech this week . . . maybe purposely, maybe out of fundamental misunderstanding of the situation.

We'll find out in the next few weeks.

Woldy