Hitting the ground rerunning, Obama issues disappointing language on Israel/Palestine

by on January 20, 2009 16
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Obama's White House is now online. The White House's foreign-policy agenda begins by vowing "to seek a lasting peace in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict." But then three paragraphs of absolute support for Israel no matter what is very disappointing. Not a shock, but disappointing nonetheless. And of course not a word about the Gaza slaughter and destruction. Friends don't let friends drive drunk.

About Philip Weiss

Philip Weiss is Founder and Co-Editor of Mondoweiss.net.
Posted in Beyondoweiss, Gaza, Israel/Palestine, US Politics

{ 16 comments... read them below or add one }

  1. Richard Witty says:
    January 20, 2009 at 3:24 pm

    They conclude that there is significant threat against Israel and Israelis, which you have stated that you dismiss.

  2. Colin Murray says:
    January 20, 2009 at 3:42 pm

    They conclude that if they want to govern effectively and repair the country, they must have the support of Congressional leadership, which at the current time means the support of AIPAC. It is foolish to mistake fear for either agreement or stupidity.

  3. Craig says:
    January 20, 2009 at 3:48 pm

    With friends like Israel, who needs enemies?

  4. citizen says:
    January 20, 2009 at 4:01 pm

    Yes, like there has been no threat against the Pals–threat? How about massacre with no defense? Is this what we get with Obama?

  5. Judy says:
    January 20, 2009 at 4:02 pm

    Anyone else read that George Mitchell will be appointed Special Envoy?

    http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5h7FiHtnmJNschh9VfKV02r_TyCvA

  6. cha says:
    January 20, 2009 at 4:11 pm

    as MRW pointed out the foreign policy comments at Obama's Change.gov site are swamped with demands stop coddling Israel.

  7. syvanen says:
    January 20, 2009 at 4:30 pm

    The strike against Gaza was carefully coordinated with the news cycles. Begin over Christmas when news is low and pull out during the inauguration when attention is elsewhere.

    The Gaza story is now over. No more news here. Israel pulled this off brilliantly from a PR perspective. The Palestinians are such cloddish buffoons when it comes to spinning their story. Somehow they think having the truth on their side means something. Perhaps they will learn after a few more generations of living in the diaspora or under brutal occupation.

  8. Ed says:
    January 20, 2009 at 5:53 pm

    sayvanen: "The Palestinians are such cloddish buffoons when it comes to spinning their story."

    Talk about blaming the victim. No, the Palestinians just don't have thousands of propaganda agents ensconced in US media and the US Establishment hierarchy. For that matter, neither does any other foreign entity except Israel, with its nation-within-a-nation army of diaspora Jewish Zionist fifth columnists and their multitude of gentile useful idiots.

    How are the Palestinians supposed to compete with a foreign army of Ziobots occupying the US?

  9. Colin Murray says:
    January 20, 2009 at 6:44 pm

    The Lobby may take as long to defeat as it took to create. This means decades, so gird your loins. Judge President Obama by what he does, not what he says, or what he feels compelled to say. I do not believe that either he or his advisers are imperceptive enough not to see the grave threat the current leadership of AIPAC poses to American national security. They may choose, like many before them, to ignore the threat, but we cannot know that after less than one day.

    There are numerous ways in which American foreign and domestic policy can be gently nudged into directions that undermine the Lobby. First and foremost is democratization. It is what extremist Zionists in Israel and the diaspora fear most. They fear an open American government, transparent and accountable to its people. They fear the same in Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Syria, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, etc, and every member of the European Union.

  10. Colin Murray says:
    January 20, 2009 at 6:53 pm

    Oops, I forgot one critical nation to add to the list: Israel itself. We couldn't have real democracy there, could we? Apologies to Bush 41 (or was it a Saturday Night Live imitator?), "wouldn't be prudent…"

  11. Duscany says:
    January 20, 2009 at 8:18 pm

    "Friends don't let friends drive drunk."

    I like that. How about this one? Friends don't let friends shell UN schools.

  12. Vera Beaudin Saeedpour says:
    January 20, 2009 at 9:39 pm

    Phil writes: "..The White House's foreign-policy agenda begins by vowing 'to seek a lasting peace in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.' But then three paragraphs of absolute support for Israel no matter what…not a word about the Gaza slaughter and destruction."

    How much and how often can you be confronted with hard evidence of what Obama is about without facing reality? Today in the New York Times were these comments on his inauguration speech:

    Heathgal: "President Barack Obama could have recited the ingredients on a jelly jar label and I would have – we would have – hung on every word. Our dark days are over…"

    Susan DeBacker: "Obama’s words are a way to understand how he hopes to help us change and grow as Americans. I, along with so many others, stand ready to work with him for this change…"

    the only change on the horizon is the atrophy of American minds. And we are not alone. The world has caught an American fever that can't be cured with antibiotics. We're too far gone.

  13. leaNder says:
    January 21, 2009 at 6:54 am

    What I consider the most interesting part is under the header:

    Bipartisanship and Openness:Change the Culture of Secrecy:

    Obama will institute a National Declassification Center to make declassification secure but routine, efficient, and cost-effective.

    Engaging the American People on Foreign Policy:

    Obama and Biden will bring foreign policy decisions directly to the people by requiring their national security officials to have periodic national broadband town hall meetings to discuss foreign policy. Obama will personally deliver Your Weekly Address via webcast.
    AND
    Engaging the American People on Foreign Policy: Obama and Biden will bring foreign policy decisions directly to the people by requiring their national security officials to have periodic national broadband town hall meetings to discuss foreign policy. Obama will personally deliver Your Weekly Address via webcast.

    And I think this is crucial:

    Support Foreign Assistance to Israel:

    Barack Obama and Joe Biden have …

  14. leaNder says:
    January 21, 2009 at 7:11 am

    Sorry, I actually should do other things:

    But here my favorites again and I am hoping of course that old Europe is still considered an alliance or a friend? and not secretly grouped among the foes as it felt a bit lately.

    The main point below is the challenge to the culture of secrecy. Sometimes it felt it was meant to produce confusing rumors. Let's hope they mean what they say:

    Bipartisanship and Openness

    * A Record of Bringing People Together: In the Senate, Obama has worked with Republicans and Democrats to advance important policy initiatives on securing weapons of mass destruction and conventional weapons, increasing funding for nonproliferation, and countering instability in Congo.
    * Consultative Group: Obama and Biden will convene a bipartisan Consultative Group of leading members of Congress to foster better executive-legislative relations and bipartisan unity on foreign policy. This group will be comprised of the congressional leadership of both political parties, and the chair and ranking members of the Armed Services, Foreign Relations, Intelligence, and Appropriations Committees. This group will meet with the president once a month to review foreign policy priorities, and will be consulted in advance of military action.
    * Getting Politics out of Intelligence: Obama will insulate the Director of National Intelligence from political pressure by giving the DNI a fixed term, like the Chairman of the Federal Reserve. Obama and Biden will seek consistency and integrity at the top of our intelligence community — not just a political ally.
    * Change the Culture of Secrecy: Obama will institute a National Declassification Center to make declassification secure but routine, efficient, and cost-effective.
    * Engaging the American People on Foreign Policy: Obama and Biden will bring foreign policy decisions directly to the people by requiring their national security officials to have periodic national broadband town hall meetings to discuss foreign policy. Obama will personally deliver Your Weekly Address via webcast.

    And of course:

    Move Toward a Nuclear Free World: Obama and Biden will set a goal of a world without nuclear weapons, and pursue it. Obama and Biden will always maintain a strong deterrent as long as nuclear weapons exist. But they will take several steps down the long road toward eliminating nuclear weapons. They will stop the development of new nuclear weapons; work with Russia to take U.S. and Russian ballistic missiles off hair trigger alert; seek dramatic reductions in U.S. and Russian stockpiles of nuclear weapons and material; and set a goal to expand the U.S.-Russian ban on intermediate-range missiles so that the agreement is global.

    and in the light of Israel's much talked about right for self defense this:

    Support Foreign Assistance to Israel:

    Barack Obama and Joe Biden have consistently supported foreign assistance to Israel. They defend and support the annual foreign aid package that involves both military and economic assistance to Israel and have advocated increased foreign aid budgets to ensure that these funding priorities are met. They have called for continuing U.S. cooperation with Israel in the development of missile defense systems.

  15. LeaNder says:
    January 21, 2009 at 7:14 am

    The above actually looked fine here.

    and no I still have no preview button. Only one to "submit".

  16. rabbi kook says:
    January 21, 2009 at 9:57 am

    Obama's answer seems to be throw more tax money at everything–while Americans are increasingly living 3rd world lives, he's going to give more money to Israel. To I sense a special Obama agenda to
    help traditional minorities and Israel at the expense of the working folk he praised in his inauguration speech? I think his notion is to
    turn all of white USA into his dutiful grandparents–after all, the payoff is good, look where it got him. He's down with his jewish appointees and his black salvation gospel. White women have to do their part as his mother did.

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