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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Obama Threw Paleos Under the Bus? |
| 2011-05-27 |
| A long piece, but interesting. I might have to read it again to grasp it well. It is important to grasp something that many commentators, puzzled and distracted by the buzz, have missed: this was by any standards a very, very pro-Israel speech. More, it came just as the Obama official widely seen as most sympathetic to the Palestinian position (George Mitchell) stepped down, leaving Dennis Ross -- widely seen as more sympathetic to Israel -- on top. No doubt the core pro-Israel and pro-democracy elements of the speech are why distinguished conservative writers and thinkers like Victor Davis Hanson and Max Boot have dismissed the claims that Obama threw Israel under the bus. This is perhaps also why ADL leader (and leading pro-Israel figure) Abe Foxman didn't object to the perfunctory and formalistic invocation of the 1967 'frontiers'. From President Obama's point of view, criticism over the boundary issue is the gift that keeps on giving. If George W. Bush had given this speech, European political leaders would be up in arms about America's outrageous and one-sided support for Israel. Bush could've said the sky is blue and got a similar reaction. But when Obama gave it, Europeans swooned for joy. At last, an American President with the guts to stand up to those all-controlling, all-manipulating Jews! This would be funny if it weren't so ugly and sad, but from the White House point of view it is useful. Well, if true, that'd explain why the press is going along with it. But if the White House has rather neatly finessed the politics of the moment, it is still a long way from managing the turbulence in the Middle East. Peace between Israelis and Palestinians will almost certainly not come on Obama's watch; he can forget about peace -- he will be lucky if he can get a peace process of some kind back on track. The economic meltdown in Egypt darkens prospects for the Arab spring. President Obama's endorsement of the democratic revolutions could come back to haunt him if the ultimate beneficiaries of the revolution are the radicals. Having the world think Obama is a brave Jew-defying President wrestling the almighty lobby even as he shifts policy back toward the approaches taken by his immediate Republican and Democratic predecessors is a best-case outcome for President Obama at this point. And a pretty clever stunt, if that was his intention, AND he can pull it off. Luckily for him, that looks like the way things are going -- and the more heat he gets from the right the more likely it is that the world will keep its eyes fixed on his non-existent contest with the awesome but illusory Elders of Zion. Who is this Walter Russell Mead guy, anyway? |
| Posted by:Bobby |
| #1 "Who is this Walter Russell Mead guy, anyway?" Someone of whom I enjoy reading. He has plenty of winners with me. Like here: hit a speed bump. And California dreaming. Stupid idiots |
| Posted by: newc 2011-05-27 23:49 |