Obama to Appoint Middle East Crisis Team on 'Day One'

Arutz 7 ^ | 1/16/09 | Gil Ronen

[Nachum]

(IsraelNN.com) United States President-elect Barack Obama said he will appoint a team immediately after his inauguration on Tuesday to address on "Day One" the crisis in Gaza, as well as other troubles across the Middle East.

"We've got a regional set of problems," Obama said in an interview with USA Today, noting the challenges in Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan in addition to the war over the Land of Israel. "They're not going to be solved in isolation. And we've got to be active in all these areas in order for us to be successful in any of these areas."

According to the report, Obama is planning a “diplomatic offensive, which could include the appointment of special envoys,” and which “contrasts sharply” with President Bush's approach to the region. “Bush put less emphasis on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict early in his tenure and tended to deal with Middle East problems separately,” the report explained.

Most Americans Blame Arab Side The most recent poll by Rasmussen Reports showed 53% of Americans at least somewhat confident in Obama’s ability to deal with the situation in Gaza, including 25% who are “very confident” in the President-elect.

The Rasmussen poll found that 56 percent of voters nationwide believe that “the Palestinians are to blame” for the current situation in Gaza, while 13 percent say Israel is at fault. Close to half - 45% - said Israel was justified in taking military action against Gaza, while 38% opined that the Jewish nation should have tried harder to find a diplomatic solution.

As in the earlier survey, Republicans strongly agree with Israel, while Democrats wish there had been more efforts at diplomacy. Half of those polled said Israel should agree to a truce now, while 26 percent disagree.

[TigersEye]

Inexperience shows.

[stevem]

Obama to Appoint Middle East Crisis Team on 'Day One'

Praise the Lord, we are FINALLY going to get this problem solved!

[adorno]

Bush put less emphasis on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict early in his tenure and tended to deal with Middle East problems separately

Gee! I wonder, did anything occur during Bush's first year that made everything else, well.... kinda secondary?

I can see Obama, a year from now, proclaiming that progress is being made, and that he's looking into it, and that the situation will get worse before it gets better, and that Rome wasn't built in a day. Furthermore, he'll say, whatever problems may exist in the middle-east were a long time in building and that, whatever the solutions may be, will not happen in just one term of his administration and he'll need a second term.

Meanwhile, mixed in with all his rhetoric will be a myriad of excuses for not getting things done with the primary excuse being, the problems not dealt with by the prior administration or created by that administration or inherited from that administration, or the ineptitude of that administration.

[colorado tanker]

This has been going on my entire adult life - it's like Groundhog Day.

The new people always think if we try harder or start a new process things will change, but they never do. All we get are never-ending negotiations peppered with wars, frameworks, roadmaps, initiatives, intifadas, incursions, accords, strikes, etc. Barry will fail like all the others.

Nothing will change until the Pali's decide they'd rather have peace than killing Jews.

[sheik yerbouty]

The Obamanation will be a regular Snivel Chamberlain..

[anniegetyourgun]

If He did not cut those days short, even the elect would be deceived.

[Larousse2]

Special Envoy = Rev. Wright and Motown.

[DarthVader]

LOL!! >:-)

[Larousse2]

Are you former friend of now deceased (RIP) “MouthofSouth”?

[OKSooner]

Wish I could take credit for it, but some prescient Freeper pointed out that if he isn't AC, he's got to be test marketing at the least.

[chuck_the_tv_out]

“Wish I could take credit for it, but some prescient Freeper pointed out that if he isn’t AC, he’s got to be test marketing at the least.”

True. A lot of checkboxes are ticked.

They were for Hitler too. And he wasn’t. He was a type though.

[Beckwith]

Is the team’s charter to end crisis or create crisis?

[sheik yerbouty]

People’s reactions will be the half of it..

[Sender]

I can't wait to see what PEBO has in store for Day Two.

-Gun Safety Protection Act
-Bank Nationalization Act
-Hate Crimes Enforcement Act
-Fairness Doctrine
-Income Equality Act
-Oil-Producing Wilderness Protection Act
-Kyoto II
-LGBT Civil Rights Act
-Euro-Arabian Apologist Suckup Act
-One World Religion Act
-HopeChange Deniers Reeducation Act