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Obama's abandonment of America
CarolineGlick.com ^ | May 20, 2011 | Caroline Glick

Posted on 05/20/2011 8:31:56 AM PDT by thouworm

I was out sick yesterday so I was unable to write today's column for the Jerusalem Post. I did manage to watch President Obama's speech on the Middle East yesterday evening. And I didn't want to wait until next week to discuss it. After all, who knows what he'll do by Tuesday?

Before we get into what the speech means for Israel, it is important to consider what it means for America.

Quite simply, Obama's speech represents the effective renunciation of the US's right to have and to pursue national interests. Consequently, his speech imperils the real interests that the US has in the region - first and foremost, the US's interest in securing its national security. Obama's renunciation of the US national interests unfolded as follows:

First, Obama mentioned a number of core US interests in the region. In his view these are: "Countering terrorism and stopping the spread of nuclear weapons; securing the free flow of commerce, and safe-guarding the security of the region; standing up for Israel's security and pursuing Arab-Israeli peace."

Then he said, "Yet we must acknowledge that a strategy based solely upon the narrow pursuit of these interests will not fill an empty stomach or allow someone to speak their mind."

While this is true enough, Obama went on to say that the Arabs have good reason to hate the US and that it is up to the US to put its national interests aside in the interest of making them like America. As he put it, "a failure to change our approach threatens a deepening spiral of division between the United States and Muslim communities."

And you know what that means. If the US doesn't end the "spiral of division," (sounds sort of like "spiral of violence" doesn't it?), then the Muslims will come after America. So the US better straighten up and fly right.

And how does it do that? Well, by courting the Muslim Brotherhood which spawned Al Qaeda, Hamas, Jamma Islamiya and a number of other terror groups and is allies with Hezbollah.

How do we know this is Obama's plan? Because right after he said that the US needs to end the "spiral of division," he recalled his speech in Egypt in June 2009 when he spoke at the Brotherhood controlled Al Azhar University and made sure that Brotherhood members were in the audience in a direct diplomatic assault on US ally Hosni Mubarak.

And of course, intimations of Obama's plan to woo and appease the jihadists appear throughout the speech. For instance:

"There will be times when our short term interests do not align perfectly with our long term vision of the region."

So US short term interests, like for instance preventing terrorist attacks against itself or its interests, will have to be sacrificed for the greater good of bringing the Muslim Brotherhood to power in democratic elections.

And he also said that the US will "support the governments that will be elected later this year" in Egypt and Tunisia. But why would the US support governments controlled by the Muslim Brotherhood? They are poised to control the elected government in Egypt and are the ticket to beat in Tunisia as well.

Then there is the way Obama abandoned US allies Yemen and Bahrain in order to show the US's lack of hypocrisy. As he presented it, the US will not demand from its enemies Syria and Iran that which it doesn't demand from its friends.

While this sounds fair, it is anything but fair. The fact is that if you don't distinguish between your allies and your enemies then you betray your allies and side with your enemies. Bahrain and Yemen need US support to survive. Iran and Syria do not. So when he removes US support from the former, his action redounds to the direct benefit of the latter.

I hope the US Navy's 5th Fleet has found alternate digs because Obama just opened the door for Iran to take over Bahrain. He also invited al Qaeda - which he falsely claimed is a spent force - to take over Yemen.

Beyond his abandonment of Bahrain and Yemen, in claiming that the US mustn't distinguish between its allies and its foes, Obama made clear that he has renounced the US's right to have and pursue national interests. If you can't favor your allies against your enemies then you cannot defend your national interests. And if you cannot defend your national interests then you renounce your right to have them.

As for Iran, in his speech, Obama effectively abandoned the pursuit of the US's core interest of preventing nuclear proliferation. All he had to say about Iran's openly genocidal nuclear program is, "Our opposition to Iran's intolerance - as well as its illicit nuclear program, and its sponsorship of terror - is well known."

Well so is my opposition to all of that, and so is yours. But unlike us, Obama is supposed to do something about it. And by putting the gravest threat the US presently faces from the Middle East in the passive voice, he made clear that actually, the US isn't going to do anything about it.

In short, every American who is concerned about the security of the United States should be livid. The US President just abandoned his responsibility to defend the country and its interests in the interest of coddling the US's worst enemies.

AS FOR ISRAEL, in a way, Obama did Israel a favor by giving this speech. By abandoning even a semblance of friendliness, he has told us that we have nothing whatsoever to gain by trying to make him like us. Obama didn't even say that he would oppose the Palestinians' plan to get the UN Security Council to pass a resolution in support for Palestinian independence. All he said was that it is a dumb idea.

Obama sided with Hamas against Israel by acting as though its partnership with Fatah is just a little problem that has to be sorted out to reassure the paranoid Jews. Or as he put it, "the recent announcement of an agreement between Fatah and Hamas raises profound and legitimate questions for Israel."

Hamas is a jihadist movement dedicated to the annihilation of the Jewish people, and the establishment of a global caliphate. It's in their charter. And all Obama said of the movement that has now taken over the Palestinian Authority was, "Palestinian leaders will not achieve peace or prosperity if Hamas insists on a path of terror and rejection."

Irrelevant and untrue.

It is irrelevant because obviously the Palestinians don't want peace. That's why they just formed a government dedicated to Israel's destruction.

As for being untrue, Obama's speech makes clear that they have no reason to fear a loss of prosperity. After all, by failing to mention that US law bars the US government from funding an entity which includes Hamas, he made clear that the US will continue to bankroll the Hamas-controlled Palestinian Authority. So too, the EU will continue to join the US in giving them billions for bombs and patronage jobs. The Palestinians have nothing to worry about. They will continue to be rewarded regardless of what they do.

The of course there are all the hostile, hateful details of the speech: He said Israel has to concede its right to defensible borders as a precondition for negotiations; He didn't say he opposes the Palestinian demand for open immigration of millions of foreign Arabs into Israel; He again ignored Bush's 2004 letter to Sharon opposing a return to the 1949 armistice lines, supporting the large settlements, defensible borders and opposing mass Arab immigration into Israel; He said he was leaving Jerusalem out but actually brought it in by calling for an Israeli retreat to the 1949 lines; He called for Israel to be cut in two when he called for the Palestinians state to be contiguous; He called for Israel to withdraw from the Jordan Valley - without which it is powerless against invasion - by saying that the Palestinian State will have an international border with Jordan.

Conceptually and substantively, Obama abandoned the US alliance with Israel. The rest of his words - security arrangements, demilitarized Palestinian state and the rest of it - were nothing more than filler to please empty-headed liberal Jews in America so they can feel comfortable signing checks for him again.

Indeed, even his seemingly pro-Israel call for security arrangements in a final peace deal involved sticking it to Israel. Obama said, "The full and phased withdrawal of Israeli military forces should be coordinated with the assumption of Palestinian security responsibility in a sovereign, non-militarized state."

What does that mean "with the assumption of Palestinian security responsibility?"

It means we have to assume everything will be terrific.

All of this means is that if Prime Minister Netanyahu was planning to be nice to Obama, and pretend that everything is terrific with the administration, he should just forget about it. He needn't attack Obama. Let the Republicans do that.

But both in his speech to AIPAC and his address to Congress, he should very forthrightly tell the truth about the nature of the populist movements in the Middle East, the danger of a nuclear Iran, the Palestinians' commitment to Israel's destruction; the lie of the so-called peace process; the importance of standing by allies; and the critical importance of a strong Israel to US national security.

He has nothing to gain and everything to lose by playing by the rules that Obama is trying to set for him.


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Government; Israel; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: bhounderthebusspeech; carolineglick; glick
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To: wolfman23601
"I have a compromise: Israel will retreat to its 1949 borders when the Muslims get out of the Balkins and Constantinople and retreat back to thr 1450 boarders." I have a better idea - the new borders of Israel: Photobucket
21 posted on 05/20/2011 9:15:18 AM PDT by SVTCobra03 (You can never have enough friends, horsepower or ammunition.)
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To: thouworm
In the short term this will be disastrous, in the long term......if the second coming is not within a few short years, we are set for some very black decades under the global tyranny of the Muslims.

I have had believers in a near term return of Christ, say "why worry about this stuff, (worldwide politics and war) "things will just be what they will be". It is hard to get them to understand, that standing up for God, standing up for his nations, Israel and the U.S., and STANDING in the breech in His stead, is what we must do. There is nothing God hates more than someone who will not do for themselves. He didn't say, I will fight your battles for you, so go on partying and making love. He COMMANDS us to STAND UP FOR OURSELVES, HAVE FAITH, PRAYERFULLY ASK HIS COUNCIL, and He will stand with us. If we do not stand up, neither will he stand with us.

I STAND FOR ISRAEL and the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. Both houses of Israel, truth be told. As Jeremiah Jr has been seen to posit on this very site. Ezekiel 37:16 God will join the tribes as signified as One stick, Judah, Levi and Benjamin being one, the Jews. With the other tribes represented by Ephraim of the other ten tribes as another. God himself will join them together as One stick, or nation again. You see the current nation Israel, is not all of the sons of Jacob, there are others that are lost in history. The U.S. is full of many of them, as are other nations that follow a special calling. I know people are kept from seeing the truth, until it is time. That time is near, and to know this truth, and not speak it is a denial of faith. Wake up O HOUSE OF ISRAEL, the land spoiled with rivers, a land of milk and honey. This very land we now call home. Our brethren in the nation Israel, is about to be fallen upon by enemies, and our "King" has betrayed them even unto death. What say ye all?

22 posted on 05/20/2011 9:19:08 AM PDT by runninglips (Republicans = 99 lb weaklings of politics.)
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To: All

The Netanyahu AIPAC speech

It’s worth watching in full, but here are some of the highlights.

On Jews and Israel:

The future of the Jewish state can never depend on the goodwill of even the greatest of men. Israel must always reserve the right to defend itself.

The connection between the Jewish people and the Land of Israel cannot be denied. The connection between the Jewish people and Jerusalem cannot be denied.

The Jewish people were building Jerusalem 3,000 year ago and the Jewish people are building Jerusalem today. Jerusalem is not a settlement. It is our capital.

On the peace process:

Last year, I spoke of a vision of peace in which a demilitarized Palestinian state recognizes the Jewish state. Just as the Palestinians expect Israel to recognize a Palestinian state, we expect the Palestinians to recognize the Jewish state. In the past year, my government has removed hundreds of roadblocks, barriers and checkpoints in the West Bank. As a result, we have helped spur a fantastic economic boom there. Finally, we announced an unprecedented moratorium on new Israeli construction in Judea and Samaria.

This is what my government has done for peace.What has the Palestinian Authority done for peace? Well, they have placed preconditions on peace talks, waged a relentless international campaign to undermine Israel’s legitimacy, and promoted the notorious Goldstone Report that falsely accuses Israel of war crimes.

On Israel and America’s relationship:

For decades, Israel served as a bulwark against Soviet expansionism.Today it is helping America stem the tide of militant Islam. Israel shares with America everything we know about fighting a new kind of enemy. We share intelligence and we cooperate in countless other ways that I am not at liberty to divulge. This cooperation saves American lives.

Our soldiers and your soldiers fight against fanatic enemies that loathe our common values. In the eyes of these fanatics, we are you and you are us. … Militant Islam does not hate the West because of Israel. It hates Israel because of the West Because it sees Israel as an outpost of freedom that prevents them from overrunning the Middle East. When Israel stands against its enemies, it stands against America’s enemies.

Politico has the transcript. Watch or read the speech in full. It’s worth it.

This entry was posted in Israel. Bookmark the permalink.

SOURCE


23 posted on 05/20/2011 9:20:37 AM PDT by thouworm
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To: mojito

“He wants - as part of his “legacy” - to have a Palestinian state created on his watch.....”

When the British broke the old Ottoman mid-east Protorate up in the 40’s-50’s they did indeed creat a Palestinian state.....it’s called Jordan whose population is ~90% Palistinian.

Israel, vis a vis the Mideast, is like the husband in a divorce proceeding. The assets have been split, and now the wife wants half of the husband’s remainder.

Obama is a historical fool....... It’s not a laughing matter for either the world, for Isreal, nor the USA. Only a serious defeat for this jester in 2012 by a Conservative , backed by a new elected and super majority committed Conservative Congress and Senate will be able to undo all the damage our Communist in Chief has been able to inflict upon us.......I fear for our nation, and that is ample motivation to press for the needed electoral results.

I don’t know about anyone else, but I am sick and tired of the left’s destroying the USA in persuit of a foreign and failed political Philosophy.


24 posted on 05/20/2011 9:23:11 AM PDT by Forty-Niner (Palin/West 2012)
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To: scooby321
“...claiming that the US mustn't distinguish between its allies and its foes...”

It's good thing the US never practiced this ridiculous notion in the past. I can't imagine treating the Axis Powers with the same affinity we did Great Britain.

25 posted on 05/20/2011 9:27:05 AM PDT by Gum Shoe (You live to serve this ship. Row well, and live.)
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To: thouworm

If the palis had wanted peace, they coulda had it a long time ago. They want money, protection money. They are running a racket. “Pay us or we will blow up such and such. Pay us again or we will blow up such and such. pay us again or we will blow up such and such.” And nobody learns.

Palis are liars. There is no one with Pali authority to “settle.” Anyone who takes their garbage without a large grain of salt is doing so to transfer Palis some of America’s wealth.

Palis do not deserve any American wealth. They have no “plan” to better anyone’s lives. This is just a huge ripoff for whoever is top Pali dog at the given moment a ransom payment is made.

Bam Bam is simply transferring American wealth to terrorists and criminal, plain and simple.


26 posted on 05/20/2011 9:29:18 AM PDT by yldstrk (My heroes have always been cowboys)
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To: mojito

Hard to find anything to disagree with in that statement except to say that I find it difficult to believe that he is the mastermind. And even though Jarrett may be “his brain,” it’s certainly not her. Who gives BHO his marching orders? Who calls the plays and strategy?


27 posted on 05/20/2011 9:30:29 AM PDT by thouworm
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To: thouworm
Conceptually and substantively, Obama abandoned the US alliance with Israel. The rest of his words - security arrangements, demilitarized Palestinian state and the rest of it - were nothing more than filler to please empty-headed liberal Jews in America so they can feel comfortable signing checks for him again.

Lol, she's not beating around the bush there. And there seems to be little evidence that would refute her observation.

28 posted on 05/20/2011 9:56:43 AM PDT by Will88
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To: yldstrk

On a different level, it reminds me of the “Justice Brothers” (Sharpton/Jackson) and DNC rackets.


29 posted on 05/20/2011 10:07:41 AM PDT by thouworm
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To: wolfman23601
I have a compromise: Israel will retreat to its 1949 borders when the Muslims get out of the Balkins and Constantinople and retreat back to thr 1450 boarders.

And as a goodwill gesture, the Muslims could return the ancient Jewish city of Medina to the Jews.

30 posted on 05/20/2011 10:08:14 AM PDT by Will88
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To: thouworm

bflr


31 posted on 05/20/2011 10:12:58 AM PDT by rockinqsranch (Dems, Libs, Socialists, call 'em what you will, they ALL have fairies livin' in their trees.)
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To: thouworm

Breaking News:

Mexico see opportunity to restablishment of borders to pre-Mexican war.

Atzlan will rise again.


32 posted on 05/20/2011 10:14:21 AM PDT by School of Rational Thought (Get the BO out of the Executive Mansion.)
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To: School of Rational Thought

that’s not funny, lol! give it time...BHO’s list is long.


33 posted on 05/20/2011 10:26:22 AM PDT by thouworm
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To: thouworm

Bump for the always insightful Caroline Glick.


34 posted on 05/21/2011 6:30:41 AM PDT by EternalVigilance (GOP mantra: 'Repeal and replace.' Translation? 'We can do socialism better than the Democrats.')
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