Amir Oren in Haaretz says that Obama has accepted Israel's view of the global danger of a nuclear Iran and may countenance an Israeli attack– and meanwhile won't take any bull on settlements. Bruce Wolman writes:
Too much in this is distressing. Very retro. From Oren:
"The significance is that the attention devoted to existential threats of terrorism and nuclear weapons intensifies exactly as it did during the Bush presidency, yet it is disconnected from the Arab-Israeli conflict."
[heading eastward, past Iraq]
"Not all Muslims are bad, but all the bad guys are Muslims, with the exception of North Korea. A world order that is founded upon nations and multinational cooperation frameworks cannot become enslaved by religious fanaticism that will foment perpetual war, leading to the deaths of millions of civilians via the spread of nuclear weapons to unfettered regimes and organizations that have vowed to liberate holy land by killing infidels."
"The Pentagon and Obama's National Security Council have become increasingly convinced of this following talks with Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi in Washington and Strasbourg."
"Very soon, in Netanyahu's visit to Washington and Obama's visit to Jerusalem, either a change will be imposed on Israeli policy, or a change will be imposed on the Israeli government."
I love the sentence: "… cannot become enslaved by religious fanaticism that will foment perpetual war …" Which nation is he talking about here?
Weiss: Note Barbara Crossette's latest piece in the Nation. She marvels that Obama is not rolling back Bush and taking a more forceful position in favor of human rights in Israel.
