http://wordfromjerusalem.com/?p=4827
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One might have hoped that Obama’s calamitous mishandling of
recent Middle East crises, climaxing with his disastrous response to the
Syrian use of chemical weapons, would have taught him a few lessons on
regional politics.
Regrettably, his address to the
United Nations General Assembly last week proved otherwise. By
reverting to his original Cairo speech - insisting that resolution of
the Israeli-Palestinian peace “would have a profound and positive impact
on the entire Middle East and North Africa”, Obama has caused many
Israelis not merely to question his competence but also his real
intentions towards Israel.
The notion that the stability
of the entire Middle East region hinges on the resolution of the Israeli
–Palestinian conflict, is utterly absurd. Our conflict has no bearing
on the complex and far more problematic conflicts and pressure points
surrounding us: the struggle between Sunnis and Shiites, the resurgence
of Al Qaeda, the rise of the Moslem Brotherhood, the persecution and
murder of Christians throughout the Moslem world, the threat of a
nuclear Iran, the chaos in Libya and Yemen, the upheavals in Egypt, the
global Islamic terror attacks extending from New York to Iraq, Pakistan,
Afghanistan, Mali and most recently Kenya, and above all, the carnage
in Syria. To place responsibility for regional stability on Israel in
the midst of this chaos is a terrible misreading of reality.
To compound matters, President
Obama linked the Iranian nuclear threat and the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict, treating them with equal importance - a clear signal that the
US expects Israel to make major concessions to the Palestinians in
return for “undertakings” to prevent the Iranians from obtaining a
nuclear bomb.
Prime Minister Netanyahu must
have been bitterly disappointed. He has bent over backwards in efforts
to please Obama. At Obama’s urging he extended a humiliating apology to
Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan for the killing of the Turkish terrorists
seeking to violently breach Israel’s maritime arms blockade against
Gaza. Yet, when Erdogan subsequently refused to fulfill his
undertakings, Obama failed to even reprimand him.
Netanyahu outraged most
Israelis by capitulating to extreme US pressure by releasing Palestinian
terrorists, many of whom were mass murderers.
He also encouraged AIPAC to
support the President in Congress on the Syrian issue – an act which
backfired after Obama equivocated, and then withdrew his request for
Congressional support.
Yet Obama disregarded all
Netanyahu’s efforts and once again left him in the cold. Ignoring the
asymmetry of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, he complimented both
parties for “having demonstrated a willingness to take significant
political risks” – explaining that Israel had released large numbers of
hard-core terrorists (an act which no US government would conceivably
contemplate) and bracketing this with the reciprocal Palestinian
“concession” – to engage in negotiations with the Israelis! Does he
really believe that Israel releasing mass murderers and the Palestinians
consenting to engage in negotiations amount to equivalent political
risks?
When Obama glibly proclaimed
that “friends of Israel, including the United States, must recognize
that Israel’s security as a Jewish and democratic state depends upon the
realization of a Palestinian state”, he ignored the dangers Israel
would face, if as is almost certain, Palestine became a failed rogue
state and served as a launching pad for terrorists and states like Iran
committed to its destruction. Nor did Obama even mention the visceral
hatred and incitement to violence which continues to be promoted at all
levels of PA society, making genuine peace inconceivable.
Obama’s desperate renewed
“appeal” to the Iranians, pleading with them to engage in dialogue and
foolishly reiterating that he did not consider regime change as an
objective was also profoundly disappointing..
The new Iranian President
Hassan Rouhani, in stark contrast to his deranged predecessor,
Ahmadinejad, has launched an extraordinary charm offensive. Cynically
oozing goodwill, he referred to the employment of nuclear weapons as a
crime against humanity and sought to divert attention from the Iranian
nuclear threat by demanding that Israel join the Nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty with other “enlightened” states like Iraq,
Syria and Libya. With a forked tongue, he conveyed reassuring messages,
encouraging protracted negotiations.
It should be recalled that in
2005, whilst serving as national security adviser and head nuclear
negotiator, Rouhani brazenly lied concerning Iran’s genuine nuclear
intentions. And just prior to departing for New York, he was
photographed speaking at a military parade in front of a sign that read
“Israel must cease to exist”.
Nor despite all his sweet talk,
has Rouhani offered a single concession. Clearly, he is eager to talk
and negotiate. But unless the Ayatollah decides otherwise, the
centrifuges will continue spinning until Iran achieves its nuclear
objective.
Yet, sensitive to his master
Ayatollah Khomeini or a backlash from his hardline opponents in Iran,
Rouhani humiliatingly spurned a pathetic US effort to orchestrate an
“impromptu” handshake at the UN, stating that it would be premature.
That did not deter Obama from telephoning him as he was about to leave
for Iran, congratulating him on his election and praising his
“constructive statements” on the nuclear issue.
The US and Europe are desperate
for a face-saving situation to avoid confrontation with the Iranians.
They ignore the ultimate result of the buildup of underground nuclear
facilities and ballistic missiles.
Furthermore, the bitter reality
is that after Obama’s inept zigzagging in relation to Syria, his threat
that the US is “determined to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear
bomb” and will if necessary “use all elements of our power, including
military force”, ring hollow and is unlikely to be taken seriously by
the Iranians - or anyone else.
It must be deeply frustrating
for Netanyahu to see the rogue state of Iran courted by the US and
Europe, whilst Israel, a democracy and genuine ally of the US is treated
so shabbily. The chilling parallels with the betrayal of Czechoslovakia
and Chamberlain’s policies of appeasement and “peace in our time” in
the late 1930s will prey on our minds in the months to come.
Netanyahu will seek to pierce
through Rouhani’s sweet talk at the UN. . He will raise skepticism about
Rouhani’ tactics and urge the world to prevent the Iranians from
emulating the North Koreans, who achieved their nuclear objectives by
similar means. He will also demand full transparency and verification,
should any agreement be reached with Iran. For these expressions of
objective reality and bare security necessities, he will undoubtedly be
depicted as a spoiler by naive and euphoric US and global leaders
seeking justification for their inaction against Iran.
He will also resist pressures
from the Obama administration for additional fundamental unilateral
concessions to the Palestinians. But unlike his political opponents on
the right accusing him of cowardice, Netanyahu - as all Israeli leaders
since the time of Ben Gurion - realizes that Israel is dependent on a
superpower and that today the support of the US both politically and
militarily is crucial. Netanyahu also recognizes that for all his
failings, Obama with the strong encouragement of Congress continues to
provide Israel with the military necessities that no other nation could
provide.
Israel has a vested interest in
a strong America employing its superpower status to maintain global
stability. We are not obliged to behave as a vassal state. But we must
act prudently. Whilst resisting pressures to concede on matters
impacting on our security, we must demonstrate our appreciation of
American support and be willing to make concessions on issues which
Americans perceive as impacting on their interests.
The next 9 months will be
challenging, especially if President Obama retains his fixation that he
can resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict by May 2014. There is no
basis for any realistic settlement beyond an interim arrangement. Even
aside from Hamas and the extraordinary turbulence in the region, it is
inconceivable that an agreement could be achieved concerning issues such
as the Arab refugee right of return. If Abbas himself was willing to
compromise (and he is not), he would be assassinated within a matter of
days.
This is a time for our leaders,
including President Peres as well as the Likud hawks, to stand united.
Repeated statements refuting the positions adopted by the Prime
Minister, calling for annexation of territories or opposing a two state
solution, undermine our global position. Such behavior enables the
Palestinians to distort reality and shift the blame on Israel for the
inevitable breakdown which will result from their intransigency and
refusal to genuinely coexist with us.
It is unconscionable that even
during this turbulent period with the upheavals in Syria and Egypt, the
Obama administration blinds itself to the real barriers to peace and
exploits the Iranian nuclear threat as a vehicle to pressure Israel to
maintain this Alice in Wonderland negotiation charade. By demanding that
we make further unilateral territorial concessions in the absence of
ironclad security (which is currently impossible) the US is pressuring
us to gamble with our lives and future.
The writer’s website can be viewed at www.wordfromjerusalem.com.He may be contacted at ileibler@leibler.com
This column was originally published in the Jerusalem Post and Israel Hayom
Some of my recent articles:
Anti-Semitism in Belgium Reaches New Heights (September 24, 2013)
Putin’s Russia Now a Force in the Middle East (September 17, 2013)
America’s Isolationism and its Implications for Israel (September 11, 2013)
A Friendlier Australian Government (September 8, 2013)
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