Leon Hadar disagrees with me, and Brent Scowcroft, and Samir Sumaida'ie, and says that Obama can continue to basically ignore Israel/Palestine, until such time as strong leadership emerges over there that could bring about a local resolution, rather than an imposed one. Makes fun of my new coalition:
[I]t seems that many members of the Reality-Based Community who mocked
Bush neocons for their grand designs of transforming Iraq and remaking
the Middle East have joined with the Hope-Based Community in
proclaiming their high expectations of President Obama bringing peace
to the Holy Land. There are hopes among many Obama watchers that the
new president will take steps to repair Americaâs ties with the Middle
East by withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq and opening a diplomatic
dialogue with Iran. Thus having strengthened U.S. status in the Middle
East, Obama might be in position to embrace a more activist strategy
aimed at bringing about Israeli-Palestinian reconciliation.
Only if its possible. If its impossible, no president will risk his political capital for a vain effort.
What can we do to make it possible?
Discourage the extremists on both sides. In a word, encouraging the NON-RADICAL humanists and moderates.
Well, Mr. Hadar, all we have to do is take away the obscene amount of money that the now poor US taxpayers shovel to israel, which few know about, and we can watch that tune change.
Israel is not critical to life in the USA.
I supported Scowcroft and Berzezinski when they were publicly speaking out against the Bush administration and its Mideast policies, but now they both strike me as dirty old men trying to save a decrepit Empire and a corrupt Establishment with tricks, high profile P.R., and minimal reform. Too much damage has been done by the elite to paper over its crimes with a few tweaks here and there, and in some ways concentrating merely on the I/P issue, and even bringing heavy pressure on the Israelis, strikes me as too little too late. Donât get me wrong, organized Jewry should be brought to heel and made to pay for its role, but letâs not pretend there isnât real systemic corruption across the entire two-party regime and its various tributaries that has nothing to do with the I/P issue, and that needs to be bored out and eviscerated.
Even if the I/P issue was solved tomorrow, the slime in Washington and New York would remain, and it wouldnât be long before it was back to its dirty tricks after having appeased some of its most tenacious critics who are animated by the I/P issue. Sorry, blokes. Youâre not going to get off that easy. By all means, go ahead and throw the Israelis under the bus, but donât think that thatâll get you off the hook.
I have to agree with Leon. Obama might get troops out of Iraq, though it's looking grim on that count lately. He will probably talk to Iran, though I can't see what good that will do ultimately – they aren't going to change their belligerent policy towards Iran's completely legal nuclear program (the zionist objections are to their legal right to posses nuclear technology).
Basically he doesn't have the guts to stand up to the lobby – we've already seen that….