Yet Another Waste Of The President's Time
First, it was passing the massive health care "reform" instead of dealing with the economy, now it's giving all to striking an Israeli-Palestinian deal, as if it would somehow rally Arab states into preventing Iran from getting nukes and persuade our enemies elsewhere that they misjudged America, writes Joel Mowbray at the Wash Times:
This is absurd. Arab dictators already want to stop Iran, as they fear the political dominance the mullahs would achieve across the region should they acquire nukes. As for Islamic extremists battling our soldiers, it's patently naive to think a peace deal would persuade them to lay down their arms.U.S. support for Israel is mere pretext for calculated flare-ups of violence in the battlefield or on the Arab street, but the underlying reasons for hatred of America have little, if anything, to do with the Jewish state.
Mr. Obama's Middle East domino theory is also flawed because peace is not possible in the short term. As close as experts now say a deal was during the Clinton administration, the only end result from those negotiations was Palestinian terrorism.
Israel gave ground repeatedly over the course of various negotiations in the Clinton era. Palestinians achieved most of their realistic goals - all of Gaza, 95 percent of the West Bank and half of Jerusalem - yet Yasser Arafat walked away at Camp David in 2000. Months later, he launched an unprecedented terror campaign he called the "second intifada."
In the intervening decade, matters have become worse. A "two-state" solution seems impossible, simply because it would have to be three states to account for Hamas' control over Gaza. Some recent media accounts have reported that Hamas would accept Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas negotiating on its behalf. Perhaps, but a four-day blood-soaked coup in Gaza three years ago suggests otherwise.
Hamas is far from the only stumbling block, however. Palestinian society has become increasingly radicalized, not just by Hamas propaganda, but also because of the handiwork of Mr. Abbas' supposedly moderate Fatah. Mr. Obama would be well-advised to comb through the Web site of the invaluable Palestinian Media Watch, which has documented hundreds of examples of violent Islamic indoctrination from both Hamas and Fatah.
Simply put, ordinary Palestinians are not ready to accept peaceful coexistence with a Jewish state of Israel. Various polls over the years have shown clear majority support for rocket attacks and suicide bombings, and those who disagree publicly do so on strategic - not moral - grounds.
Is a society where no one speaks out against the depravity of brainwashing its children to become mass murderers ready to embrace peace?
Here, from Palestinian Media Watch, are those sweet Palestinian children indoctrinated to believe that blowing oneself (and a bunch of other people) up for Allah is preferable to living:
Obama's not anti-war, he's just on the other side.
brian at April 19, 2010 6:44 AM
They blow up so quickly....
Eric at April 19, 2010 9:13 AM
Here's the situation: No true deal (meaning that both parties are bargaining in good faith) is possible until the existing Pali culture is thrown out and replaced by something else. And that's just the way it is.
Cousin Dave at April 19, 2010 9:51 AM
"Obama's not anti-war, he's just on the other side."
Here's your chance to sign up and ship out, Brian, if you're 42 or younger. Go show Obama the right way to get 'er done.
Active Duty None-Prior Service
* Army - 42 (must ship to basic training prior to 42nd birthday)
* Air Force - 27
* Navy - 34
* Marines - 28
* Coast Guard - Age 27. Note: up to age 32 for those selected to attend A-school directly upon enlistment (this is mostly for prior service).
Reserve Non-Prior Service
* Army Reserves - 42 (must ship to basic training prior to 42nd birthday)
* Army National Guard - 35 (changed from 42 in 2009)
* Air Force Reserve - 34
* Air National Guard - 40 (Changed from 34 in Aug 2009)
* Naval Reserves - 39
* Marine Corps Reserve - 29
* Coast Guard Reserves - Age 39
Gog_Magog_Carpet_Reclaimers at April 19, 2010 10:09 AM
Laugh if you want, but I've always thought earthquakes were directly connected to loose female dressing standards.
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D9F698N00&show_article=1
I worry, yes Crid, actually worry, that Iran may be far enough along with their nuclear development that we (nor Israel) can any longer stop them.
Eric at April 19, 2010 11:40 AM
Ah, the "Chickenhawk!" defense.
Fuck you.
Unless you really wanna live in "Starship Troopers" that is. In which case, I don't want to hear your opinions on anything unless you've got a direct qualification to have them.
Look at the way Obama's conducted foreign policy since he took office. There are only two conclusions to be drawn: he's a fool, or he's on the other side.
There are no other explanations that I can come up with. He's actively moved us closer to our traditional enemies, and snubbed or otherwise pushed away our traditional allies.
brian at April 19, 2010 2:30 PM
WWJD
What Would Jimmy Do?
Jimmy Carter at April 19, 2010 3:46 PM
brian --
It is possible that Obama is a fool when it comes to the Middle East. It is also possible that he's just such a narcissist that he knows better than all those well-intentioned people who have gone before him and failed.
For instance, at the end of his term when the "second intifada" was going on, Clinton reportedly threw his hands up and exclaimed, in complete exasperation, something to the effect of "You just can't deal with these people", meaning the Palis. One would think that, at a minimum, Obama could have invited Clinton to the WH for a talk about the whole situation, and thus benefitted from WJC's rueful experiences while in charge. That he apparently chose not to says a lot about his mindset as president.
I don't want to go as far as saying that Obama is on the other side; however, it is clear that (1) he has sympathies with Islam and its methods, perhaps from his time in Indonesia when young, that we clearly do not share, and (2) he has attitudes about the Jews, perhaps from his 20 years in Rev. Wright's pews, that we also do not share.
Regardless of the exact depths of his motives, we can be sure that his continued pandering to the forces of terrorism, and his corresponding undermining of the only popularly elected government in the ME, will not turn out well -- for them or for us.
cpabroker at April 19, 2010 4:11 PM
LOL @ the internet tough guy. Brian, you're always good for a laugh.
Gog_Magog_Carpet_Reclaimers at April 19, 2010 4:47 PM
> I worry, yes Crid, actually worry, that Iran
> may be far enough along with their nuclear
> development that we (nor Israel) can any
> longer stop them.
Me too. Lileks once said that it was unlikely that the United States would respond in kind to a nuclear detonation. (Maybe he said it here. But as I remember it, his point was more that we love life more than they do... It wasn't so much and indictment of our relative pussydom.)
Anyway, bad things will happen. If not from there, than from here.
Crid [CridComment at gmail] at April 19, 2010 9:28 PM
Sometimes one is compelled to publish the comment before one's research is complete. I regret that.
This really is worth reading all the way through.
Hey, I just noticed that there's no "publish" button, just a "submit" button. Does this make Amy into some kind of dominance-minded person, or is that what we should expect from someone who calls her self Goddess?
Crid [CridComment at gmail] at April 19, 2010 9:40 PM
Gog, I'm really starting to believe that you suffer from MPD.
Either that or you're just completely insane. You were the one who told me to join the military and show Obama how it's done, but I'm the ITG?
Obama's done more harm to our foreign relations in 15 months than Carter, Reagan, Clinton and two Bushes did in 30 years.
And seriously, what's with this insane desire to see me in the military? Am I supposed to just sell my house, close my business, and ship out to satisfy your insane preconditions for me to speak my mind about the fool in the Oval Office?
Unlike you, I'm not laughing. There's nothing funny about mental illness. Get help.
brian at April 19, 2010 10:40 PM
Crid, this one is worth reading too
Why No Jews in a Palestinian State?
Damn good point if you ask me. Why are we working towards the creation of an ethnically cleansed state? Does Israel get to kick out all their Arab citizens the way every Arab country did with their Jews in 1948? Not that they ever would. But I asked someone recently, assuming a Palestinian state was formed, should Jews be able to emigrate to it and become citizens? As far as I'm concerned, if that's not an option, they can go whistle.
Ltw at April 20, 2010 9:28 AM
Unless you really wanna live in "Starship Troopers" that is.
The movie or the book?
lujlp at April 20, 2010 12:20 PM
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