Haaretz: Washington is disappointed in Netanyahu. Yes, then why did you meet with him?
The White House expressed disappointment in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent visit to Washington, with officials saying that they had hoped that the prime minister would present a concrete plan to scale back Israeli construction in West Bank settlements, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner condemns the ongoing colonization of the West Bank–as Obama fails to do–and says that Israelis have lost their interest in seeking peace, it’s all about conflict management:
"What really hurts me, and this shocks us, is that before there used to be a great peace movement in Israel. There was a left that made itself heard and a real desire for peace," Kouchner said.
"It seems to me, and I hope that I am completely wrong, that this desire has completely vanished, as though people no longer believe in it," he added.
The real question is whether we are going to prevent the kind of general violence that will turn Israel and Palestine into a Balkans-style conflict, with Jerusalem a kind of Sarajevo, and the Israeli Arab villages of the Little Triangle a kind of Bosnia. Without palpable outside action to move Israel off the status quo, especially from the Obama administration, the streets of the West Bank will blow.
Related posts:
{ 9 comments }
Is it possible that Obama is concentrating on getting health care passed and other domestic issues first? I mean, starting January 1, 2010, Obama has the opportunity to turn the spigot off. Israel usually gets all its dough at the end of January.
I hope so. It’s certainly true that his health care initiative will never pass if he simultaneously challenges the Israeli Lobby over the colonies in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. However, he is faced with solving a litany of difficult and politically divisive problems our country faces. Republicans are knee-jerking opposing everything he does. When will he ever not be dependent upon having the near unanimous support of Democratic Congressman?
The Israeli Lobby has far more than enough Congressmen in its pocket to cut him off at the knees anytime it chooses. However, if they do so uncompromisingly and leave him with nothing to lose, I bet he would fight with a vengeance.
He is deluding himself if he thinks he is getting brownie points for only disagreeing with the Israeli Lobby some of the time. His audacity at making an issue of the colonies, even only briefly followed by abject surrender, will be punished to the extent practicable to solidify precedent. If there is a viable challenger, perhaps HRC again, I expect that they will try to gut him at the end of his term when he wouldn’t have that much time left to counter-attack.
Just in case anyone doubts who controls the government.
MRW? Is meaningful health care actually getting through Congress? There’s your answer on whether Obama is focused on that.
Chaos4700, can a president impose it? He can cajole, he can use blackmail, he can threaten, but those pesky congressmen can do him in. Bush had his major domo Cheney working the behind-the-scenes handcuffs; that and all that appeasing the Christians and Zionists shit thrown in for good measure to keep those religious zealots happy.
Look, I basically agree with you. This health care thingey does not go far enough — and the barrels of lies about government-offered (not government run) health insurance stagger the mind. But it now has to get past Graham and Lieberman in the senate. Who knows.
However, this issue is major. It’s major for people, even if 50% of what’s needed gets passed, and it’s major for his admin. He has to get it through. And he has to eat, kiss his kids, bunk his wife, sleep, talk to finance guys, read intel reports, visit places, and think.
If he’s concentrating on domestic issues instead of foreign right now, I’m willing to hold certain views of mine in suspension.
I think there’s a middle ground between the president Patriot-Acting something through Congress, and sitting on one’s hands and ceding popular initiatives like single-payer before the debate even starts. That middle ground is called “statesmanship” and I think it’s a shame the current President never learned that.
The streets of the West Bank are already starting to blow; there are video clips on it now available; it’s just reported or depicted here in the USA MSM.
Some caring Israelis are aware of what’s happening–check out this short clip:
http://peacenow.org/entries/standing_up_for_jerusalem
Yes but how our dear kouchner is encouraging peace.. He is not credible this guy! He is paranoid.. Recently his demand to inaugurate a hospital in Gaza was rejected by the Israeli PM, French diplomats in Gaza don’t get permits to come back home for medical treatments! Kouchner oh my gosh what’s a cheap puppet.
Comments on this entry are closed.