Obama's stance worries Israelis
- Jason Koutsoukis
- April 18, 2009
- Page 1 of 2 | Single Page View
CAN Israel still call the United States its best international friend? Apparently not, if you believe the tone of the local media.
Watching the drama unfold inside Israel, the increasingly tense dialogue between US President Barack Obama and new Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is taking on all the trappings of a duel.
Almost every day brings news of another sore point between the two countries, a source of yet further inflammation of their once warm relations.
One could be forgiven for thinking that the more immediate threat to Israel's national security lay across the Atlantic rather than from closer to home.
It is bad enough that President Obama uses almost every opportunity he can to set the parameters of a final peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. Now US officials are openly using Israeli anxiety over Iran's fledging nuclear program as a bargaining chip to force Israel's hand on giving up control of the West Bank Palestinian territory.
No less a figure than White House chief-of-staff Rahm Emanuel — whose father fought with the militant Zionist group the Irgun, and whose appointment had provided such reassurance to Israeli officials — was quoted this week laying down the law to Israel.
If Israel wants US help to defuse the Iranian threat, Mr Emanuel was reported to have told Jewish leaders in Washington, then get ready to start evacuating settlements in the West Bank.
7 comments:
I actually clicked on your blog wondering if you would have a new post on this topic...and now our President is palling around with Chavez - what's next?
Isnt our expectation regarding the student of Rev Wright essentially explanatory?
Yesod of European Third world socialism
Application #1- Economic policy in USA- done
Application #2 - Foreign policy shifting toward European Union away from Britain- done
Application #3 - Foreign policy favoring third world ie Iran, Venezuela Cuba- Done
Application #4 Necessary move away from Israel- Done
Application #5 Emergence of third world leaning alliance structure-support for impossible "peace agreement" for Israel-pending
Confrontation over Israeli attack on Iran- pending
Why does Britain stand apart from European Union policies?
Britain had a special relationship with the US going back to ww2 at least.
This "special relationship" was based on a shared sense of reality of ideas and subsequently of freedom of thought and the right to pursue happiness based on that thought.
But Britain is extremely secularist, talk of God is taboo, and it is no longer a supporter of Israel.
Yes, but less so than Europe- they do have a Church of England.
More importantly the "special relationship" was about Anglo exceptionalism.
It is not accidental that Britain consistently opposed any significant Union with Europe. They opposed the metric system the constitution of europe and a joint currency. All these unity plans are essentially French German ideas.
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