By Barry Rubin
Speaking to Jewish donors (or should we say possible Jewish donors?) to his presidential campaign, President Barack Obama pledged that his administration would “devote all of its creative powers” to trying to bring about Mideast peace.
This is not an art project. What is needed is not “creative powers” but to deal with the actual, real situation. To me, “creative powers” (Samantha creative Powers?) means to come up with gimmicks, to do anything possible to bring about the supposed signing of a peace of paper [pun] as fast as possible. If they know the Palestinian Authority is inflexible, then they will just demand more concessions from Israel. And they won’t bother to ask whether the “peace agreement” they are pushing would last a month or produce a more stable region and a more secure Israel.
Every time Obama says that the “status quo is unsustainable,” he’s suggesting that anything would be better than the status quo. What he would produce, then, is a worse status quo.
Meanwhile, as if to prove the point, Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas said he would drop seeking UN approval of unilateral Palestinian independence if the United States offers something better: “I don’t know if the U.S. has another option, but if it does, we will not go to the U.N..”
This is a beautiful example of Palestinian leaders’ chutzpah disguised as victimhood. Let’s consider the following points:
1. The Palestinian bid at the UN will fail. Abbas knows this. Therefore, he is asking to be given a better offer to a situation where he’d get nothing.
2. This strategy breaks every previous Palestinian Authority commitment but he wants to be paid for abandoning it.
3. The Palestinian Authority has refused to negotiate with Israel for 2.5 years yet has faced no pressure or punishment for its behavior. Now he wants to be given more.
4. The Palestinian Authority has partnered with Hamas, a genocidal antisemitic terrorist group that is aligned against U.S. interests and rejects peace with Israel, and the Palestinian Authority has faced no pressure or punishment for its behavior. Yet Abbas wants U.S. concessions to a PA in which Hamas is a full partner. (Whether the coalition collapses in future that is what the United States is dealing with at this time.) Does it bother anyone that the PA is ready to take on as equal partner a group that openly says that Jews have caused all major wars, seek to control the world, and should be wiped out by murdering all of them? Does it bother anyone that the Obama Administration has not cut off all relations or even support of the PA until it ends this partnership? Let’s face it, the only reason the current U.S. government isn’t dealing directly with Hamas is because of public and congressional opposition.
5. The U.S. government allows Abbas to put the blame on itself and promises to try harder, rush faster, and offer more rather than slapping him and the PA down for their intransigence, behavior, and lack of cooperation.
In other words, Abbas is acting as if he’s doing the United States a favor by taking its money, diplomatic support, and flattery when he does absolutely nothing in return, and then demands even more!
And the Obama Administration lets him get away with it.
Every American President has entered the White House with the best of intentions to try to settle the Palestinian war to exterminate Israel and they have all failed.
Obama is probably the worst in a while because his understanding of the problem is so misinformed, shallow, and driven by the New Left narrative of an imperialist and oppressive Israel lording it over a humane, long suffering, and pitifully victimized Palestinian population. This in spite of the fact that Palestinian Authority Abbas has done every thing in his power to embarrass Obama primarily by signing up with Hamas, and has even publicly chastised Obama repeatedly. And as you point out, Obama has never made it clear that this sort of behavior by Abbas is unacceptable or could have any negative consequences.
On the other hand, Obama and his staff have made their displeasure and anger at Netanyahu and Israel quite plain on several very public occasions.
This is still how Obama and his Jewish and non Jewish advisors still see things here, and given his most recent speech and public humiliation of PM Netanyahu, it seems unlikely that Obama will ever learn anythig or ever change his tune.
Ken, it’s partly about Obama’s misunderstanding of the issues, although his advisors should be up to speed on them and so how could we really believe that the information is not available to him.
The fact is that he aligns his loyalties squarely with the Islamists, every action he takes is the action that a Muslim would take, and his minions and advisors are all anti-Israel and anti-American. Obama’s “Bible” is Zakaria’s “Post American World”. Everything this crew does fits in with his overall Islamist plans despite his occasional soothing taqiyya, and Israel is just an inconvenience to be removed.
Carter might have been even worth.
Both have strong claim for the title
What most people miss, including the normally insightful conservative analysts and pundits, is the perpetual odd fact that “education” and “anti-semitism” have no relationship. Obama, as is all too typical of black “leaders”–be they S. African (Mandela, Tutu) or American (J. Jackson, Farrakhan, Sharpton, Washington)–is just a garden-variety Jew-hater dressed up in anti-colonialist, liberal”victim” garb. He’s not interested in knowing the facts; they’re all around him if he’s curious. The premise that Obama has “best intentions” to prevent the “extermination” of Israel is so false and unfounded as to be almost comical. The only thing preventing him from allowing the Arabs to destroy that nation and its millions of Jewish citizens is that Congress/the public wouldn’t let him (probably). Don’t bet that he’s not trying to get ’round that little obstacle, either.
Why don’t we have this black leader instead?:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7VENvGHllg
“Speaking to Jewish donors (or should we say possible Jewish donors?) …”
Anyone forking out at least $25,000 to listen to Obama’s pro-Israel “assurances” is already, by definition, a donor. The phrase “more money than brains” seems to fit this crowd. These people are true believers perhaps now confronted with doubts, grasping for just the right words so they can stick with their guy. I wonder if any have even considered that if this is how Israel is treated now, how will he treat Israel if he’s reelected and no longer worries about another term.
Exactly.
I’ll give President Obama an idea since he likes to take his time and look at all angles. I say make the Arabs of Palestine educate their children to live in peace with Israel. Strike from their education books all lies about Jews. Teachers will take courses, to teach peace. All politicians/Imans will pontificate the positive aspects of living in peace with the Jews, in Arabic. And lastly all the money we give the Arabs will have transparency. We should see where the money actually goes. This will take about 20-30 years, until all the old (guys) views die.
Obama might like to have an IMAGE of a thinker, but only to ideas that matches his own.
While yours is a good and logical, it’s not on Obama’s agenda. Which is why he won’t be bothered with such rational thinking
Do you know how much money the US gives to PA? It is much less than what the EU gives. The Arabs also give some money to the PA. Do you know what would happen if the US stops giving money? The Arabs will give more money. For the Saudis it is nothing. Then the US will lose it’s leverage of influence over the PA. So why does the author suggest that the US stop supporting the PA? He definitely knows that cutting the US assistance would make the US more disliked in the Arab world than it is already. He knows that it will also lead to an immediate cessation of the peace process, something that will lead the settlements to continue to grow unchallenged. That will end the two states solution.
Also, the author seems to believe in using or projecting US military power in the region as in the past. Today, the US cannot do whatever it wants. It’s economic might is decreasing and it is considered as just another country. The author seems to miss those old days when the US had engineered coups everywhere, supported armed groups in civil wars and intervened in domestic matters of countries. That is gone.
Obama is not a kind of person to use or project military power against any country unless the US is threatened. His world of concepts are completely different than any of his predecessors. He is interested to shape a just world where a person like him can achieve what he aspires for. A person like him coming from his background would never act unjustly against any one. He instincts tell him that the way the US mediated the mideast conflict in the past was not evenhanded. That is why the army of advisers next to him are not able to move him even one inch.
The author fails to realize the enormous consequences of Obama’s election as the US president. His ascendancy to power has inspired thousands of young Arabs in the Mideast and everywhere in the world. Relations between countries are changing and our world is heading to a new and better direction.
The term “creative power” is a quote from Obama. Where did you see a suggestion by the author t use the US military? Please enlight us.
You write about US influence through US money given to the PA. While there’s o question about the money, where’s the influence? Seems to me that if such influence actually exists, it’s mainly virtual. Something the Obama may believe is there, but it’s actually not.
Do you really think that Arab people like or dislike the US based on the fact that it gives money to the PA? If you do, please let me know when you wake up.
Please note an Arab saying: After Saturday comes Sunday. Meaning: we’ll deal with the Christians when we’re done with the Jews.
Your final paragraph is also wrong: reading many of the author’s article, it seems that he knows perfectly well that Obama had brought change. But it’s for the worst.
Obama put two subject that destroyed any chance for even an intermediate agreement. Namely, the building freeze and the return to the 67 (49 actually) borders.
They were NOT on the table, and no Arab leader will demand less from Israel then the US president.
It’s one thing to vote for Obama. It’s quite another to explain him, ot even thing he knows what he’s doing. He does NOT!
The way the Palestinian Authority is being coddled amounts to “enabling”. Instead of holding them accountable for their intransigence and warmongering, they are being encouraged and enabled in their perpetual victimhood.
What the west should do instead is a form of “tough love” that holds them fully responsible for the endless incitement and lies in their media, schools and mosques. We should require that they sit down and honestly make peace or we will withdraw any support whatsoever. They would change their behavior quickly if it began to cost them.