More craziness from Israel-- pressure on Obama without the usual lobby middlemen. Aluf Benn, an editor at Haaretz, echoes David Broder's column saying that a U.S. attack on Iran would resurrect the economy and reelect Obama (Broder link here), then goes further and advises Obama to carry out such an attack so as to win Israel's compliance with international law re colonies in West Bank. Israel sure is a tough lay!
Broder is the voice of the American center, which supported Obama and still believes in his ability to get back on track. If the president listens to him, the conditions will be created for a historic deal with Israel: elimination of the Iranian threat in return for Palestinian independence and dismantlement of the settlements in the West Bank. In other words: You give me Itamar, I will give you Natanz.
Obama and Netanyahu are great campaigners when in the opposition, but their political trade names became blurred when they came into power. They will be tested in their ability to overcome character weaknesses, old baggage and past disputes, in order to create a blueprint that will reshape the Middle East. If they succeed, they will leave a legacy - and win the next elections.
Oh and this: Netanyahu was reported to be planning to tell Biden today, the U.S. must attack Iran. Says my tipster: Boorish but predictable. They don't even have the decency to wait a couple of weeks after the election. (Thanks to Ofer Neiman for Benn pickup).
“then goes further and advises Obama to carry out such an attack so as to win Israel’s compliance with international law re colonies in West Bank. Israel sure is a tough lay!”
Sure, and then they’ll qualify that by arguing that East Jerusalem is not the West Bank and that the existing settlements will lie inside annexed land and that the Palestinians within those borders will be offered Israeli citizenship.
of course the great irony is that if the U.S. not only continued to refuse the israel-demanded Iran attack and instead pulled its troops and military operatives from Iraq, Pakistan, Yemen and Afghanistan (and Gulf bases) and put just 10% of them into israel to impose a peace that conforms to U.S. interests we could spend 1/1000th the money, stop the “war-on-terror,” reign in israel’s endless war-crimes and outrageous conduct, see the creation of viable Palestinian state, dramatically increase U.S. standing in the world, and probably stabilize the U.S. and world economy in the bargain
And gain Iran as an oil ally and regain Turkey as a geat Ally.
radii,
If I were a weapons manufacturer, a career general or a government agency, what you describe would be a nightmarish scenario.
Today, Israel pushed the US to directly threaten Iran with war, and the US declined; although maintaining all options, told Israel economic sanctions are best for now at least, and don’t take any unilateral action. Israel and its
blatent fifth column in he USA are drooling to attack Iran, and they favor Uncle Sam doing it for them. Meanwhile the American masses sleep and the subject is not popular at its tea parties. link to ynetnews.com
each will give the other that which neither has any right to: US has not right or claim to Iran, and Israel has no right or claim to Palestinian land. This scenario is two crooks divying the loot.
I’ve been thinking about the tale about Solomon that we’ve all learned: Two women came to Solomon, seeking from him a decision about who should have custody of a child. Solomon proposed cutting the child in half, thinking that the real mother would surrender her rights to the child rather than see him killed.
Israel is the other woman in this scenario: she has nothing to lose and everything to gain; she has no claim whatsoever to the child yet, risking nothing but the time to make the false claim, stands a greater than even chance of gaining the entire reward.
Obama and the US need to be wiser than Solomon, and it turns out that’s not so difficult, and Solomon was not so wise after all — justice was not served in the Solomon scenario. The world now has rule of law, and ways of gathering and assessing facts and evidence — today’s Solomon would order a DNA test to establish the true mother of the contested child. Palestinian DNA courses through the land of the Palestinian people; the evidence and the law is neither murky nor complex. Only the narratives — the mythologies and propagandized psychological states of the Israeli people — interfere with the working out of a just resolution.
It occurs to me that BYahoo would rather have Biden as president than Obama. It occurs to me that there is a quick way to make this happen. It occurs to me that they may have done this before.
Does this worry anyone else?
It occurs to me that they would cover it up.
Sure it does. The truth is that many politicians have indeed been ‘shot down’, literally or figuratively, by Israel/the Mossad/Lobby if they were perceived to pose a threat to Israel’s interests. In some cases that’s semi-official, in others suspected on reasonable grounds or a far-fetched conspiracy theory. Enough, at any rate, to make every politician afraid to be perceived as an enemy of Israel. Makes you wonder: Bribery aside, how much of the loyalty to Israel Western politicians both demonstrate and demand from their party and the general population is inspired by fear?
So the road to ME peace doesn’t run through Baghdad? What? It runs through Tehran?
Well, ok, u-turn then onward Christian soldiers….