| Submit your comments on this article |
| Home Front: Politix |
| Obama: Israelis suspicious of me because my middle name is Hussein |
| 2010-07-09 |
| Well, that and dissing Bibi. And telling Israel it couldn't build settlements. And telling Israel to give up half of Jerusalem. And telling them to apologize to Turkey. And for thinking that they are being too hard on terrorists trying to kill Israeli soldiers while trying to break their blockade against weapons on Gaza. And thinking it's OK for Hezballah to have missiles. And questioning the US-Israel alliance. And not standing beside Israel. U.S. President Barack Obama told Channel 2 News on Wednesday that he believed Israel would not try to surprise the U.S. with a unilateral attack on Iran. In an interview aired Thursday evening, Obama was asked whether he was concerned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would try to attack Iran without clearing the move with the U.S., to which the president replied "I think the relationship between Israel and the U.S. is sufficiently strong that neither of us try to surprise each other, but we try to coordinate on issues of mutual concern." Obama spoke to Channel 2's Yonit Levy one day after what he described as an "excellent" meeting with Netanyahu at the White House. The two leaders met alone for about 90 minutes Tuesday evening, during which time they discussed the peace process with the Palestinians, the contested Iranian nuclear program, and the strategic understandings between their two countries on Tehran's efforts to achieve nuclear capabilities. Netanyahu promised Obama during their meeting that Israel would undertake confidence-building measures toward the Palestinian Authority in the coming days and weeks. These steps are likely to include the transfer of responsibility over more parts of the West Bank over to PA security forces. During the interview Wednesday, when confronted with the anxiety that some Israelis feel toward him, Obama said that "some of it may just be the fact that my middle name is Hussein, and that creates suspicion." "Ironically, I've got a Chief of Staff named Rahm Israel Emmanuel. My top political advisor is somebody who is a descendent of Holocaust survivors. My closeness to the Jewish American community was probably what propelled me to the U.S. Senate," Obama said. "I think that sometimes, particularly in the Middle East, there's the feeling of the friend of my enemy must be my enemy, and the truth of the matter is that my outreach to the Muslim community is designed precisely to reduce the antagonism and the dangers posed by a hostile Muslim world to Israel and to the West," Obama went on to say. Obama added that he believed a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians could be achieved within his current term. "I think [Netanyahu] understands we've got a fairly narrow window of opportunity... We probably won't have a better opportunity than we have right now. And that has to be seized. It's going to be difficult." The American President entirely sidestepped the question of whether the U.S. would pressure Israel to extend a current 10-month moratorium on construction in West Bank settlements, failing to give a clear answer. The moratorium is set to expire in September, and Netanyahu has announced that he would not extend the timeframe. The U.S., however, views continued Israeli settlement construction as a serious obstacle to peace efforts. When asked whether he thought Netanyahu was the right man to strike a peace deal with the Palestinians, the U.S. President said that "I think Prime Minister Netanyahu may be very well positioned to bring this about," adding that Israel will have to overcome many hurdles in order to affect the change required to "secure Israel for another 60 years" In a separate interview with another Israeli media outlet, Obama proclaimed that he was not "blindly optimistic" regarding the chances of a Middle East peace agreement. Israel is right to be skeptical about the peace process, he said in another yet-to-be-aired interview that was taped on Wednesday. He noted during the interview that many people thought the founding of Israel was impossible, so its very existence should be "a great source of hope." Meanwhile on Wednesday, Netanyahu told U.S. Jewish leaders that direct Palestinian-Israeli talks would begin "very soon", but warned that they would be "very, very tough." Netanyahu told his cabinet earlier this week before flying to Washington that the time had come for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to prepare to meet directly with the Israelis, as it was the only way to advance peace. Israelis and Palestinians have been holding indirect talks mediated by Obama's special envoy to the Middle East, George Mitchell. Aides to Obama sounded a hopeful tone regarding the negotiations last week, telling reporters that the shuttle diplomacy between the two sides had paid off and the gaps have narrowed. At a meeting with representatives of Jewish organizations at the Plaza Hotel late Wednesday, Netanyahu discussed the efforts to promote Middle East peace. "This is going to be a very, very tough negotiation," he said, adding "the sooner the better." "Direct negotiations must begin right away, and we think that they will," he said. |
| Posted by:gorb |
| #13 Oh, and Micheal Totten just posted the below at http://www.michaeltotten.com/ “Hussein” Has Nothing to Do With It President Barack Obama agreed to be interviewed by Israel's Channel 2, and at one point he came across like a peevish and blinkered man who hasn't a clue how others see him or how the Middle East works. During the interview Wednesday, when confronted with the anxiety that some Israelis feel toward him, Obama said that "some of it may just be the fact that my middle name is Hussein, and that creates suspicion." If he was trying to reduce anxiety among Israelis by making that comment, I can assure him he failed. I was in Jerusalem the day he was inaugurated. Everyone knew his middle name then, and the Israelis I met on that trip swooned over him as much as my bohemian neighbors in Portland did. Whether for good reasons or bad, his plummeting poll numbers are based entirely on what has occurred between then and now. Posted by Michael J. Totten at 12:58 PM |
| Posted by: miscellaneous 2010-07-09 17:47 |
| #12 Hey Mitch.H, most folks would have looked into the shoe first for a scorpion snake before putting it on. |
| Posted by: miscellaneous 2010-07-09 17:39 |
| #11 dear mr. president: Your middle name is "Hussein" here in the United States too. Why not try (maybe) just one trust building measure for those citizens in the U.S. for whom you are paid to help? |
| Posted by: whatadeal 2010-07-09 17:02 |
| #10 You can call me Ray or you can call me Jay or you can call me Ray Jay or you can call me Raymond Jay or you can call me RJ; but you don't have to call me Hussein. |
| Posted by: borgboy 2010-07-09 16:55 |
| #9 I bow to no-one in my contempt for the moron, but even I have to think that's kind of unreasonable. He is what he is; I blame the 52 percenters for their imbecility. To blame Obama for being Obama is like cussing out the scorpion what was hiding in your shoe when you ought to be off finding yourself some anti-venom ASAP. |
| Posted by: Mitch H. 2010-07-09 13:27 |
| #8 If Obama had a shred of patriotism, before running for president he would have announced that considering it was less that 10 years after 9/11 he didn't feel comfortable with his middle name, and publicly change his middle name to "George" or "Abraham" (or anything even vaguely Judeo-Christian). The fact that he didn't was one of the first things that made me suspicious of his values and agenda. |
| Posted by: Scooter McGruder 2010-07-09 12:57 |
| #7 Isn't that your name? It fits, so what's your point? |
| Posted by: NoMoreBS 2010-07-09 12:41 |
| #6 Worst $#@&!#& president in history! A complete disaster. |
| Posted by: Jefferson 2010-07-09 12:32 |
| #5 Putz |
| Posted by: mojo 2010-07-09 11:15 |
| #4 C'mon now, folks. Some of my best friends are Jewish fellas. |
| Posted by: Barry O 2010-07-09 10:22 |
| #3 It's just his narcisim rearing it's ugly head. Obaminition: "It couldn't be about what I say or do. It's much more personal. It has to be." *Runs off crying because some one in the international community doesn't like him* |
| Posted by: miscellaneous 2010-07-09 07:09 |
| #2 I think gorb's inline comments at the beginning of the article give the Israelis enough reason not to trust him. Bambi would just love it if both sides signed a "peace" agreement while he was still in office. He could claim that it was all his doing -- and he should get another Nobel. Of course, Jimmy Peanut got the Israelis and Palestinians to sign the Camp David agreement. He didn't get a Nobel, and the Israelis and Palestinians are still fighting. |
| Posted by: Rambler in Virginia 2010-07-09 04:03 |
| #1 How about being a closet anti-semite, Barry? |
| Posted by: twobyfour 2010-07-09 03:19 |