Lately this site picked up a letter in the New York Review of Books from establishment types including Lee Hamilton, Thomas Pickering and Sandra Day O'Connor urging a return to the 1967 lines as the basis for making a viable Palestinian state. Well, Elliott Abrams doesn't like it and responds in the Weekly Standard, in which this penultimate paragraph is most significant and goes along with what I and others have been saying for years.
The analysis and the proposals made in this letter reveal that many of America’s most experienced former senior officials now blame Israel alone for the freeze in Middle East peace negotiations. And they believe that Israel should be forced into compromises and sacrifices under enormous American pressure, even if the vast majority of Israelis oppose them and view them as dangerous. This is, to use State Department terminology, "deeply disturbing," even if the likelihood that any president would accept this advice is small.
Notice, there is no wondering why these individuals who he admits are experienced would take this position. Since former Congressman Lee Hamilton, a veteran of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, submitted this letter, it should be recalled what the Washington Jewish Week said of him in 1993: “While he considers himself a strong supporter of US-Israel relations, Hamilton also ads: ‘I retain the right to make some independent judgments from time to time.’” (Washington Jewish Week, Feb. 18, 1993)
It looks like he just made one.
No, they’re not being forced into anything. But if Israel insists upon trodding the path to self-destruction, they have to be made to understand no one will join them on the trip.
Israel is losing the elites in Europe. Here are 2 recent examples from the Financial Times. It is very hard to sell shoddy hasbara to the finance industry.
link to ft.com
link to ft.com
“…officials now blame Israel alone for the freeze in Middle East peace negotiations. And they believe that Israel should be forced into compromises and sacrifices under enormous American pressure, even if the vast majority of Israelis oppose them…”
Vacuous logic. Descending down the drain of victimology without even addressing the arguments made in their letter. It is a weak and desperate tactic. Sad.
Add this warning to those gray eminences directly from Saudi Arabia,
“There will be disastrous consequences for U.S.-Saudi relations if the United States vetoes U.N. recognition of a Palestinian state.”
link to consortiumnews.com
And a comment,
“Once a 100% American owned company. There is public memo from a KSA sent to the state dept…before the 1973 war expliciting saying that if the US continues with its one sided support of Israel…they would fully nationalize it…and of course when nothing changed they did just that.”
link to en.wikipedia.org
Elliott Abrams has convinced me by the sheer power of his “logic” that the more settlers Israel moves into the occupied West Bank, the larger will be the eventual Palestinian state. Go figure!
FROM ELLIOTT ABRAMS, 04/08/09:
SOURCE – link to washingtonpost.com
This is further proof that the interests of the US and Israel sometimes come into conflict, and the US doesn’t always give in to Israel.
Want another example?
Israeli demands that Jonathan Pollard be let out of jail.