The differences between Dems and Reps on these issues couldn’t be more stark.
President Clinton’s most frequent visitor to his White House was Yassir Arafat.
Clinton pushed the Oslo Accords, and while maybe well intentioned was a total disaster for everyone. Giving the PLO diplomatic status, tens of thousands of guns, billions of dollars every year, and a safe place to reside was asinine. The results should have been predictable.
Bush Jr learned from Clinton’s error and pulled away from the previous negotiations realizing you can’t make a horse drink water. He put out his road map that proceeded as follows: “end the violence; halt settlement activity; reform Palestinian institutions; accept Israel’s right to exist; establish a viable, sovereign Palestinian state”.
Obama snubbed the Israeli leader. Obama and his reckless Sec of State went on a regime change rampage that destabilized the entire region, empowered Iran, cost the lives of American diplomats and soldiers, and ultimately gave Russia their long sought toehold in the Middle East with warm water ports in the Mediterranean. For all those Democrats who crow about “Russia Collusion” there was no better friend to Russia than these two Democrat leaders.
Now Trump is shaking things up. Some are complaining about the formal recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capitol, and about the revocation of funds towards Palestinian institutions. But I don’t see this as an act of vengeance or partisanship but of a realpolitik born through his decades of negotiations. You cannot continue to placate and reward obstructionism, opportunism, and flaunting of diplomatic social norms.
I may be in the minority here, but I think there should be an independent Palestinian state. But nobody is going to give it to then. They have to unify behind the purpose and not just take decades of foreign aid to perpetuate a system of graft that only exacerbates their own national interests. They need to get a grip, become a real government, a real neighbor, build their institutions, crush all rogue militias, prevent cross-border attacks, end incitement and the perpetuation of Jew hatred in their state media, and not celebrate the murder of innocent people.
I think Trump gets it. When he formally recognized Jerusalem he said that when the time comes to make peace he is going to place a “big ask” on Israel in return for that. We’ll see where he goes with it.
Meanwhile, the Democrats are only sliding further into the worst elements of their party... a slide that began decades ago by their previous leaders who thought foolishly that you can buy peace with money.
Very good summary1 I’d forgotten some of these things.
Oh and by the way:
1) In response to Bush’s road map (but also for its own reasons) Israel withdrew from Gaza, and
2) I shouldn’t be so surprised but Secretary Clinton was such a disaster in office I cannot believe anybody took her seriously as a candidate for POTUS. The media was completely uncritical of her tenure, accepting of her excuse-making, and covering up her foibles and the corruption all around her. She was unfit for office, should never have been allowed to fundraise for her personal charity while serving as SoS (I cannot believe that such actions are not criminal) and I am grateful she lost. I know she resigned as SoS before Russia went into Syria but that is a direct consequence of her and Obama’s mishandling the entire region. For her to then turn around and call Russia our greatest adversary is not just irony. There is a lot of slight of hand in that.
As we now know, so much corruption in the intelligence community, so much unreported cash flowing to charities she ran secretly, planes full of cash and gold sent around the world (if we really owed Iran all that money why not wire it to their bank, why pay it in paper bills and gold bars?) You have to stop and ponder the size and scope this gravy train of corruption has been since the Clintons took the White House and control of their party - the FBI files, the Chinese bribes, the Uranium One and so much more. Why would the highest reaches of the intelligence community be so hell bent to install her to office and destroy her challenger?
“I may be in the minority here, but I think there should be an independent Palestinian state. But nobody is going to give it to then.”
Put it in Sinai. Have the entire world contribute to a new Palestinian homeland. The new Palestine will run solely on alternative energy. Buildings, factories, homes, everything. After 10 years they can have a regional airport. We can move the UN there as new Palestine will be a symbol of how the world can work together despite their differences.
At the first UN meeting, nuke the place from orbit, just to be sure.
Nice. Thanks for putting it all together.
I may be in the minority here, but I think there should be an independent Palestinian state.>>>>>>
Yes there should be an ndependant Paestinian state. In the first 10 minutes of its existence it would commit an act of war against Israel, thereby justifying wiping Gaza and its inhabitants completely off the face of the earth. The problem would be solved, but not in the ay you would expect.
Yes, create a Palestinian state NOW.
” may be in the minority here, but I think there should be an independent Palestinian state.”
There was one created the same time Israel was created: Jordan.
The Arabs in Jordan, however, eventually decided they wanted nothing to do with the Arabs in Gaza, et al, leaving the leftover scum that is now called “Palestinian”.