Posted on 03/12/2014 5:51:03 AM PDT by SJackson
In an unprecedented breach of diplomatic etiquette, President Obama once again sandbagged Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. In a carefully orchestrated interview with Jeff Goldberg, a columnist for Bloomberg, released a few hours before the prime minister’s arrival in the US, Obama reverted to his May 2011 role as an Israel basher and engaged in personal savaging and humiliation of Netanyahu.
This despite Netanyahu’s intimation that Israel intended to adopt the Kerry framework, albeit with reservations.
Obama accused Netanyahu of leading his country toward disaster, condemned the “more aggressive settlement construction” and rhetorically asked, “Do you resign yourself to what amounts to a permanent occupation of the West Bank?” He effusively praised Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas – who had rejected prime minister Ehud Olmert’s offer for 97 percent of territories over the Green Line and refused to even conduct negotiations unless Israel released mass murderers whom he currently fetes as heroes. Obama made no reference to Palestinian intransigence and total unwillingness to compromise.
Obama’s most ominous remark was a veiled threat that unless Israel made further concessions, the US would be limited in its ability to protect Israel from “international fallout” at the United Nations and other international bodies.
Some allege that Obama was playing a “good cop, bad cop” routine with Secretary of State John Kerry, who despite his earlier role conveying similar intimidating threats against Israel was now reverting to a pro-Israel posture. The more likely explanation is that in the absence of another election, Obama no longer feels obliged to be nice to Israel and is unconstrained in promoting his biased outlook.
To Netanyahu’s credit, he retained his cool and avoided directly confronting Obama’s offensive remarks. He said that “Israel has been doing its part, and I regret to say that the Palestinians haven’t.” He added, “The tango in the Middle East needs at least three. For years, there have been two – Israel and the US. Now it needs to be seen if the Palestinians are also present.” Reiterating his desire to achieve a peace settlement, he nevertheless emphasized that he would resist any pressures that could compromise Israel’s security needs.
In the midst of this, the Ukraine crisis exploded and Obama’s impotent response again highlighted the dramatic retreat of the US from the world stage.
Obama’s incompetence and failed diplomacy led to the debacle in Syria which, combined with his misguided support of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, paved the path for Russia to resume its role as a central player in the Middle East. Obama’s courting and appeasement of extremist adversaries like Iran and his alienation of friends, and hollow threats, have convinced traditional allies that the United States has become a paper tiger and can no longer be relied upon.
Many regard Obama as even more ineffective than president Jimmy Carter.
However, when faced with another insoluble maelstrom in the Ukraine and humiliation at the hands of Russian President Vladimir Putin and requiring congressional support, Obama must have realized that it would be somewhat bizarre to launch a new confrontation with a democratic ally.
At the joint press meeting with Netanyahu, Obama gushed that “we do not have a closer friend or ally than Israel and a bond between our two countries and our two peoples is unbreakable.” In a 360-degree reversal, he commended Netanyahu’s efforts and praised him for having “conducted these negotiations with the level of seriousness and commitments that reflects his leadership.”
Netanyahu responded indirectly to Obama’s earlier outburst stressing that “the best way to guarantee peace is to be strong and that’s what the people of Israel expect me to do – to stand strong against criticism, against pressure, stand strong to secure the future of the one and only Jewish state.” He emphasized that “what we want is peace – not a piece of paper... a real peace... based on mutual recognition... a peace that we can defend.”
He urged Obama to cooperate with Israel to prevent Iran from producing nuclear weapons. He concluded with formal praise of President Obama and especially John Kerry for their tireless efforts to promote peace.
After the meeting, according to news agency AJP, a senior administration official described the talks as “not as contentious as on previous encounters” and said that the president told Netanyahu that he would “push Palestinians” to match any Israeli concessions.
And so we witnessed an extraordinary reversal. At the subsequent AIPAC conference, Kerry was effusive in his praise of Israel and Netanyahu. He called on Palestinians to recognize Israel as a Jewish state and stressed that Israel could not compromise its security.
In his AIPAC address, Netanyahu made scant reference to the president. He restated the danger of a nuclear Iran, reiterated the need for the Palestinians to recognize Israel as a Jewish state and refused to compromise on security issues. The bulk of his speech was devoted to passionately conveying his desire to reach a settlement with the Palestinians, stressing the great economic, political and social benefits that peace would bring to Israel and the region. The speech reflected the centrist position that he had adopted and thrust the onus on the Palestinians. It was an extraordinary display of good diplomacy, for which Netanyahu deserves full credit.
Yet we should be under no illusions. Despite the ultimate ritual exchange of diplomatic pleasantries, the negative chemistry and ideological differences between President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu seem unbridgeable.
Obama’s calculated savage outburst against Netanyahu prior to his arrival stands in stark contrast to the soft and engaging language he consistently employs toward leaders of rogue states like Iran. Despite the chaos and bloodshed engulfing the Middle East and other parts of the world, Obama remains obsessed with beating up Israel. His latest outburst reinforced the concerns of most of the Israeli public that he lacks any real understanding of the situation and confirmed their estimate of him as the most hostile US president Israel had ever encountered.
Israel will go through the ritual of approving the Kerry framework agreement with major reservations. If the Palestinians do likewise, negotiations will continue, although nobody will be holding their breath in expectation of a positive outcome in the short-term.
The best achievement would be an agreement to concentrate on interim solutions until such time as the Palestinian people and their leaders are genuinely willing to engage in peaceful coexistence.
But for the next two years while Obama is in office, there must be a concerted effort to retain American public and congressional support in order to deter the current administration from implementing Obama’s threat to stop protecting Israel at the United Nations and other anti-Israeli dominated international forums.
In addition, we must not become complacent about the special military assistance and cooperation we receive which was even strengthened by the Obama administration and remains crucial for the IDF to retain a qualitative advantage against its adversaries.
To this end Israel must seek to minimize public disputations with the administration and strengthen our standing amongst the American public. AIPAC must endeavor to retain the support of a bi-partisan Congress.
We must also continue to demonstrate our willingness to reach a reasonable accommodation with the Palestinians if their leaders come to their senses – a highly unlikely eventuality.
As we witness the consistent US abandonment of its major allies culminating with the ongoing Ukraine crisis, it is now evident that under Obama, it is unlikely that the US will resort to military power to defend its friends. In this climate, most Israelis would endorse Netanyahu’s determination not to compromise on security or be willing to subcontract areas controlled by the IDF to any third parties, including NATO.
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Once a Muslim, always a Muslim ....
obama is the Arabs’ lapdog
Fact 1: Muzzies hate Christians or anything or anyone having to do with Jesus
Fact 2: the AntiChrist hates Jesus and anyone associated with Him
Yes Obama hates Netanyahu because it’s in his bloodline to do so. But he does love goats and twinkies...
Obama’s failed foreign policy has diminished his stature and credibility to the extent that he’s become little more than The Mouse That Keeps Roaring Against Israel.
One has to wonder how so many can not see the point of view of the dear leader. Raised be several moslem fathers along with an atheist mother, how can the dear leader have any non moslem thoughts or ideas.
I really think this goes back to Biden’s visit to Israel in 2010 and Netanyahu announcing another settlement expansion while he was in town. Obama took it as a deliberate snub and has never forgiven him for it. Ever since the two have been at loggerheads.
He hates Israel and wants to see it destroyed.
Ironically, his intentional destruction of American foreign policy and military credibility effectively negates him with Israel because Obama has made himself the laughing stock of the international community and American power and influence irrelevant in the Middle East
CHECK BOX FOR ALL PROMISES KEPT:
End War
Egypt is moving back into the Russian orbit. Crimea will join Russia. Syria is being aggressively defended by Russia and Christians are defended by Assad while being slaughtered by the Islamists the US are assisting. Netanyahu and Putin are talking nice about cooperation. Israel needs new allies other than an Obama US bent on its destruction. Putin has an opening here if Obama keeps helping the terrorists.
Our fearless leader’s true loyalties lie with the enemies of the USA and Israel.
Who would of thought that Netanyahu was a racist.
Not to worry. God Almighty is with Israel and who can stand against God? The homo in the White House?
Yeh after Oblather announces that the Fakestinians don’t have to recognize Israel as a Jewish state. I’d say thata a bridge too far.
Israel will have to act against Iran. The question is when will be the best time? I’m thinking that if the republicans shellack the democrats in the 2014 elections, then that next day Obama will be very weak.
The same with the 2016 elections right after the elections or right before any new inaugural for any new president.
My assumption is that Obama will attack Israel to support his friend Iran.
Another good time would be if anything resembling hostility breaks out between the US and Russia over Crimea/Ukraine.
Nonsense. Obama’s first phone call of his presidency was to the terrorist leader. His first visitors and his actual advisors in the White House daily are Muslim Brotherhood jihadists. Obama’s first act in office was to get rid of and send the bust of Churchill to England. Netanyahu has nothing to do with it. It would not matter who was leading Israel - Obama is carrying out a plan to harm Israel. That is patently clear.
Natanyahu, Job, and the rest of us, appear "fated" to endure the malignant narcissist like some tropical storm with more rain than wind and "worse than four days of yellow sh*t storms."
I think they will, certainly Netanyahu will. Obama won’t attack Israel, but he’s doing his best to continue to delay at attack that probably should have happened eight years ago. Israel is probably stuck until the current “negotiations” fail, after November makes sense, but Obama will still be able to do plenty of damage to Israel in the UN and amongst the international community.
Putin does have an opening here. Don’t forget Egypt, which just placed a $2 billion arms order with Russia, Saudi financing.
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