Sunday, May 22, 2011

Obama and Netanyahu

Last week I wrote about PM Netanyahu's speech to the Knesset, that presumably contains most of the elements of his upcoming speech to the Congress . Regarding Pres. Obama's own speech on Thursday on the Middle East, that has been widely commented on, I will make only a few observations:

1. Most of the speech was devoted to the Arab uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa. While Obama identified with the need for democratic change in these Arab countries, he described very little in the way of practical US policies that will actually help those striving for democracy as opposed to reactionary forces like the Moslem Brotherhood. He did not change his policy other than providing the same amount of money (ca. b$2) to Egypt and saying nice things about the 850 or so dead or the estimated 20,000 who have been arrested in Syria, or the suppressed demonstrators in Iran. What does he propose to do about that? - very little apparently. He may have played a role in Libya, but he seems to be evading that role when it comes to Syria or any other Arab State.

2. In relation to Israel and the Palestinians, Obama's emphasis on the pre-1967 ceasefire lines caused chagrin in the Israeli diplomatic service. Although he agreed that there could be "land swaps" between Israel and a putative Palestinian State, he avoided the claim that the large Jewish Settlement blocs should become part of Israel proper, as former Pres. Bush agreed. However, he also strongly opposed any unilateral declaration of Palestinian independence at the UN. After all, they rejected this in 1948, and only now after the UN and US have been commited to bilateral negotiations ever since, have they changed their minds. He also indicated understanding of Israel's position, that it cannot negotiate with a Palestinian government that includes the regenerate terrorist entity Hamas, which recently criticized the US for killing Osama bin Laden.

3. I am not one of those who will scream "treachery" at Obama's speech. I think it was a typical speech of a liberal ideologue trying to please everybody, but satisfying nobody. Of course, it was rejected by Hamas and criticized by Fatah. In the final analysis it was a modest description of events, but not a basis for new policies.

The crux of PM Netanyahu's response after his Friday meeting at the White House with Pres. Obama was:
And now it falls on my shoulders as the Prime Minister of Israel, at a time of extraordinary instability and uncertainty in the Middle East, to work with you to fashion a peace that will ensure Israel’s security and will not jeopardize its survival. I take this responsibility with pride but with great humility, because, as I told you in our conversation, we don't have a lot of margin for error. And because, Mr. President, history will not give the Jewish people another chance.

We hope that Pres. Obama takes these remarks seriously. Now comes Netanyahu's big speech before Congress. A lot will depend not only on what he says, but also on how he says it. At least there he can be guaranteed a friendly reception.

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