By Ted Belman
There is no chance of Obama reinvigorating the peace process any time soon. There are too many other ME problems to deal with.
Obama is pulling US troops out of Iraq this year and can no longer influence events there. Iran is moving in. He is also slated to draw down troops in Afghanistan this year signaling another lost cause. Hezbollah is set to take over Lebanon in the face of Obama’s impotent threats. Violent Clashes Mark Protests Against Mubarak’s Rule as he nears the end of his life. gets ready to leave the world stage.
Obama doesn’t know whether to support the people or the dictators. He has absolutely no strategy. The US is losing control of the Middle East.
The NYT says Region’s Unrest Scrambles U.S. Foreign Policy. And how.
But the NYT still has hopes for the peace process in reviewing the Palestinian Papers. Bonner reports optimistically. Documents Open a Door on Mideast Peace Talks. Yet all the experts I read say its just another Arab propaganda exercise and that the spin is at odds with reality.
Who the hell cares about making predictions about what is going to happen in those countries? What has been done so far and what is currently being done is BAD. If this continues into the future, that will be bad also. Do you have an argument against this?
You are all so very wise after the fact. I did not hear a peep about Tunisia, the recent negotiation leaks, the Egyptian uprising, the Lebanese shenanigans.
Admit it, you know from nothing and you all self proclaimed experts, making all your deathless predictions. If I wanted to know what will happen in the middle east, I might as well flip a coin and the results would be more reliable than your forecasts.
1967: Egypt demanded that UN peacekeepers leave the Sinai, and again took control of the Straist of Tiran. Israel appealed for help from the Americans, but got none. Forced into a corner, they preemptively struck and beat the socks off of the Egyptians,
LybiansIraqis, Jordanians and Syrians.Score should be F:
U.S. had emergency plan for attacking Israel in 1967
Plan was aimed at preventing Israel from expanding westward, into Sinai, or eastward, into the West Bank
F!F!F!F!F!F!F!F!F!F!
This same statement has been used ad nauseam by HWSNBN, so ron if you are curious?
Julia,
I haven’t seen you on Israpundit before. I don’t post all that often, so I may have missed you; but if you are truly new, here, “Welcome to the Land of Mayhem!”
Concerning Rongrand,
I often don’t agree with him, but this time I completely agree. Israel has been friendlier to the US than any country; and the US, while publicly usually supporting Israel, has been working since 1948 to secretly undermine it. For the record,
1948: President Truman backed the establishment of the State of Israel. VERY, VERY good!
Grade A+ for the Americans.
1948: When the armies and air forces of several Arab states attacked Israel, with the stated intention of driving it into the sea, the very same President Truman slapped an arms embargo on the Arabs (who were fully armed, and in one case led by British officers), as well as on the Israelis (who had no real army, no navy, no air force and few weapons). The Israelis had to rely on the Russians for help, receiving from them mostly weapons captured from the Nazis. VERY bad!
Grade: F for the Americans, A+ for the Russians
1956: Egyptian President Nassar seized the Suez Canal (formerly controlled by the Brits and French) and the Straits of Tiran (vital to Israeli shipping). The Brits and French then conspired with the Israelis to attack Egypt and restore maritime rights. US President Eisenhower proceeded to conspire with the Soviet Union against his own allies, in order to win favor with the Egyptians.
Grade: F for the Americans, F for the Russians, A+ for the British and French
1967: Egypt demanded that UN peacekeepers leave the Sinai, and again took control of the Straist of Tiran. Israel appealed for help from the Americans, but got none. Forced into a corner, they preemptively struck and beat the socks off of the Egyptians, Lybians, Jordanians and Syrians.
Grade: B for the Americans (for keeping their noses out of the matter), D for the Russians (for supplying Israel’s enemies with weapons).
1973: Egypt and Syria conspired to attack Israel, and everyone knew about it. Nevertheless, President Nixon, under advice from Henry Kissinger, pressured Israel to wait for the enemy to attack. They did, and sustained heavy casualties before again beating the socks off the Arabs. The American pressure on Israel was explicitly intended to inflict heavy losses on the Israelis, to drive them into negotiations with the Arabs.
Grade: D for the Americans (At the last minute, faced with humiliation of America at not being able to help its ally, Nixon defied Kissinger and ordered arms sent to Israel. That’s why I say “D” instead of “F”)
1973-79: The US has consistently pressured Israel to give up land to the Arabs, beginning in 1973, when the Americans saved the Egyptians from a crushing defeat by ordering the Israelis to withdraw their army that had the Egyptians surrounded. By 1979, Israel had lost 2/3 of its land to Egypt, including previously unknown oil reserves which Israel had discovered and developed.
1982: After years of chaos and attacks on its people, Israel intervened in Lebanon’s civil war, occupying the country beyond Beirut. President Reagan then sent US Marines to Lebanon, to force the Israelis to withdraw. The Arabs attacked the Americans, killing nearly 300 in one attack, and Reagan withdrew them with their tails between their legs. Israel withdrew to Southern Lebanon, to protect its border.
Grade: D for the Americans (They opposed Israel, but had the sense to quit)
1992: The US went to war with Iraq. Israel offered to help, but the Americans forbade them to. Instead, Israelis had to stand idly by while Sadaam Hussein lobbed SKUD missles at them.
Grade: D for the Americans (They could’ve done worse)
Post-1993: Don’t even mention it. It’s too painful.
I wouldn’t call any of the above “Staunch support for Israel by the Americans”.
Did you read the article or are you just mad that I refuse to push the politically correct bullshit that you obviously are in love with?
Yonaton
Since when did you become some sort of infallible oracle on the subject? You remind me of the ME intelligence expert who recently described Tunisia as a rock of stability in a sea of North African chaos. He had written 12 books on the subject and was a frequent JP contributor. It turned out, he knew bupkis about the subject . And you Y probably know less.
rongrand: writes, If For any other reason, the US needs to fully support Israel, our only true friend and trusted ally in the ME.
Israel is the only nation in the ME with the ability to maintain the stability necessary to keep peace in that region.
Israel is the only nation in the region we can truly trust>
response
The implication of all you write is America is not supporting Israel or not supporting Israel enough.
My response is -what utter nonsense. America has been a stauch supporter of Israel since its inception. Through all these years America’s backing remains undiminished.
Recent revelations have shown, how little we know about what is really happening, behind the scenes, in the negotiations, so you may repeat your ramblings ad infinitum, it aint worth a bag of nuts.
If For any other reason, the US needs to fully support Israel, our only true friend and trusted ally in the ME.
Israel is the only nation in the ME with the ability to maintain the stability necessary to keep peace in that region.
Israel is the only nation in the region we can truly trust.
Those that “push” for peace with the Palestinians, no matter how well meaning – Jew or Gentile – are a danger to the nation of Israel and Jews as a whole. Here is a rather long article, but it hits on most of the points. Is peace possible in the Middle East?