Posted on 12/30/2016 5:17:26 AM PST by HomerBohn
Congress is already setting the stage to cut off U.S. funding to the United Nations in the wake of a contested vote last week in which the Obama administration permitted an anti-Israel resolution to win overwhelming approval, according to congressional leaders, who told the Washington Free Beacon that the current administration is already plotting to take further action against the Jewish state before vacating office.
Other punitive actions by Congress could include expelling Palestinian diplomats from U.S. soil and scaling back ties with foreign nations that voted in favor of the controversial measure, according to multiple sources who spoke to the Free Beacon about the situation both on and off the record.
The Obama administration is still under bipartisan attack for its decision to help craft and facilitate the passage of a U.N. resolution condemning the construction of Jewish homes in Jerusalem, a move that reversed years of U.S. policy on the matter.
The Free Beacon was the first to disclose on Monday that senior Obama administration officials played a key role in ensuring the measure was passed unanimously by the U.N. Security Council. This included a phone call by Vice President Joe Biden to Ukraine’s president to ensure that country voted in favor of the measure.
While Biden’s office continues to dispute the claim, reporters in Israel and Europe confirmed in the intervening days that the call between Biden and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko did in fact take place.
With anger over the issue still roiling, leading members of Congress told the Free Beacon on Wednesday that they will not delay in seeking retribution against the U.N. for the vote. This could include cutting off U.S. funding for the U.N. and stripping the Palestinian mission’s diplomatic privileges.
Lawmakers also will work to rebuff further attempts by the Obama administration to chastise Israel on the international stage. This would include freezing funds that could be spent by the administration on further U.N. action.
“The disgraceful anti-Israel resolution passed by the UNSC was apparently only the opening salvo in the Obama administration’s final assault on Israel,” Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas) told the Free Beacon. “President Obama, Secretary Kerry, Ambassador Power, and their colleagues should remember that the United States Congress reconvenes on January 3rd, and under the Constitution we control the taxpayer funds they would use for their anti-Israel initiatives.”
“The 115th Congress must stop the current administration’s vicious attack on our great ally Israel, and address the major priorities of the incoming administration,” Cruz said, expressing his desire to work with the incoming Trump administration to reset the U.S. relationship with Israel.< Senior congressional sources currently working on the issue further disclosed to the Free Beacon that lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are in an uproar over the Obama administration, which they accuse of plotting behind closed doors to smear Israel.
“Not content with spending the last eight years using the United Nations to undermine American sovereignty, the Obama administration has finally trained their sights on Israel and is trying to exploit this unelected and unaccountable international body to impose their resolution of the Palestinian issue on Israel,” one senior congressional aide told the Free Beacon. “Enough is enough.”
While the Trump administration will not take office until the end of January, Congress will be working overtime before then to stop the Obama administration from further damaging the U.S.-Israel relationship, according to the source, who hinted that a full cut-off of U.S. funding to the U.N. currently is on the table.
“A new administration will arrive on January 20th, but in the intervening weeks Congress has an important role mitigating the damage President Obama can do in his final hours,” the source said. “Why on earth would we throw good taxpayer dollars after bad in support of the UN, which has proven itself again and again utterly unable to encourage any positive progress? Just take Syria — if they were doing anything over the last five years, it should have been working out a fair and equitable adjudication of the Syrian war.”
“Instead, they’ve proven themselves utterly useless–in fact they’ve probably made a gut-wrenching catastrophe worse,” the source explained. “There’s no reason to think this action will turn out any more favorably.”
A second senior congressional aide working on a package of repercussions expressed fear that the U.N. vote was just the first salvo targeting Israel.
“The question now is whether this was the finale or the prologue of what this administration has planned against Israel,” the source said, adding that “everything is on the table right now — including funding cuts and scaling back diplomatic relations with countries that brought forward this resolution.”
A similar list of punitive actions was confirmed by multiple congressional sources who spoke to the Free Beacon about the matter. The sources were granted anonymity so they could speak freely.
“Obama went to the U.N. because a U.N. resolution is functionally irreversible by normal means,” added a veteran foreign policy insider who is currently working with the incoming Trump administration. “Obama’s goal was to eliminate any limited options that could be used to repair the damage to Israel, and he gambled that Trump and Congress would be too intimidated to use the remaining big stick options. He’s going to lose that gamble.”
“American leaders will now use exactly those options,” the source explained. “Everything is on the table, from systematically going after the U.N., to moving the U.S. embassy into parts of Jerusalem the U.N. says aren’t Israeli, to kicking the Palestinians out of Washington.”
“Members on both sides of the aisle are furious, so our response will be swift and forceful,” the second congressional source said. “With a Trump administration in place, any nation that seeks to delegitimize the Jewish state will need to answer to the United States.”
Jeanne Nickerson said it best:
This president is despicable!
On the home front, he destroyed American culture, traditions and values, and overwrote our constitutional rights with perverted social engineering experimentation!
On the foreign front, he destroyed our allies in his "apology" tour while kowtowing (and BOWING!) to despots, tyrants, and Sharia zealots who support terrorism!
He thought this disastrous legacy would continue with Hillary, but she lost. Not recognizing the loss was a complete repudiation and rejection of his liberal policies (all epic fails!), he's now trying to use the last month of his presidency to completely destroy the US and our relationship throughout the world in an attempt to make Trump's administration a failure in making America great because they'll be too busy picking up the pieces that Obama left and trying to put them all back together without starting WWIII!
I'm encouraged seeing Congress react! And I sincerely hope they carry this forward and impeach Obama. Impeachment would delegitimize his presidency completely and Trump wouldn't have to worry about repealing and fixing as it would all be thrown out in the trash with Obama!
Obama: "I will use the UN as a tool to express my hatred of the Jews."
Proper response: "The US will leave the UN and the UN will leave the US."
I think Obama is handing us two great gifts.
Really?
...Congress told the Free Beacon on Wednesday that they will not delay in “seeking retribution” against the U.N....
“seeking retribution” is the key statement. Actually doing something is doubtful.
21 days and the POS POTUS is gone. It’ll take a lot of bleach to get the smell out of the White House.
Read
I believe Obama has crossed a line into a world of insanity. Yes, I believe he truly has gone insane.
Trump is going to have to address - probably in a huge forum like the State of the Union - the deliberate miseducation of American youth about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. They are being taught straight-up Palestinian propaganda as fact. Some clear, straight-forward, undeniable facts need to be delivered - in graphic visual form - to overcome this brainwashing.
That is music to my ears, therefore it is probably BS.
I now rank Obama as worst president of my lifetime below Carter & LBJ. This classless display at the buzzer and over use of Exec Order and total Foreign Policy disaster.
Doubtful. Probably blogger hyperbole.
Grandstanding do-nothing senators like Linda Graham and James Lankford (Rep-OK) are using phrases like “up for discussion” and “in jeopardy”. Token opposition.
Impeach him three weeks before the end of his final term on office. Imagine the optics.
Hitler was flailing in his last days too.
He’s not insane. He’s just a petty, terrorist-loving, America-hating asshat who’s never been told No before. His actions really shouldn’t surprise anyone - they reflect perfectly and clearly who he is.
“I believe Obama has crossed a line into a world of insanity. Yes, I believe he truly has gone insane.”
Yes. He sees Trump utterly erasing his “legacy,” leaving him nothing to be remembered by except his skin color. Consequently, he’s decided to piss in history’s cornflakes, just so people remember him for SOMETHING.
What a disgraceful douchebag of a President.
He just did what any other muslim would do. Smile and wait until everyone is in the wedding party, then blow it up.
As pathetic as Obama’s machinations were, it is not Congress’ job to meddle in foreign diplomacy. The Constitution gives that power to the Executive branch alone.
“The US will leave the UN and the UN will leave the US.”
Question for Freepers: Has Trump’s awesomeness emboldened Congress to actually doing bold things? Or?
Is Congress merely concerned for their electoral lives after seeing our pitchforks in action?
I think it might be both with a bit more the first. Trump is showing that grand things are possible and perhaps congressional Republicans are finally getting over their Stockholm syndrome vis a vis the Fake Stream Media.
Just curious what y’all think.
These are the things that we know about...I’m sure he has sabotaged 100 more things...I started to get a bit upset with Trump going overboard in being nice to obama...turns out the Muzzy was playing games with Trump.
Now I want Trump to go after Hillary with no mercy!!
These are the things that we know about...I’m sure he has sabotaged 100 more things...I started to get a bit upset with Trump going overboard in being nice to obama...turns out the Muzzy was playing games with Trump.
Now I want Trump to go after Hillary with no mercy!!
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