Israel has historically been one of our strongest allies in the Middle East. They are a functioning democracy and despite what you may have heard, have a very good record on human rights and freedom for their citizens--both Jewish and Arab. Arabs who live in Israel have more freedom and more access to economic success than in most other Arabic countries. Israel has a middle class--it is not simply a very rich ruling class and a very poor ruled class. That said, I am very concerned about America's support of Israel.
Yesterday Power Line posted an article about America's 'new' relationship with Israel. According to the article:
"The prevailing view now seems to be that if there is going to be any "progress" on the settlement issue, it will come only after Arab states commit to "gestures" of normalization of their relations with Israel. The U.S. has made no progress on settlements, this theory holds, because Mitchell has been unable to induce Arab states to make such gestures (e.g., Israeli overfly rights, the exchange of economic interest sections, and various cultural and educational exchanges)."
How can we expect Arab nations that refuse to acknowledge Israel's existence as a state to interact in a positive way with Israel?
I feel that President Obama's Middle East policy is going to make the world less safe. It is obvious that the President to trying to make friends with Iran with the idea of asking the Iranians to help us in Afghanistan. That is an amazing concept when you consider that our military leaders in Iraq are telling the President (and anyone else who will listen) that Iran is trying very hard to undermine our success in Iraq. Why in the world would they be willing to help us in Afghanistan? Because the President is unwilling to take action against Iran's nuclear program, he is creating a situation where Israel will be forced to take action. Rather than put together a group of nations threatened by Iran going nuclear (Europe, Middle East state that are not Shiite, and Israel), America is not taking action. If Iran goes nuclear, Israel may not survive. They are not interested (obviously) in a wait-and-see attitude. By not strongly encouraging group action, President Obama is backing Israel into a corner where they will be force to act unilaterally. They will be condemned for thier actions (even as many countries in the world breathe a sigh of relief). It is shame that this president does not understand the importance of protecting and supporting Israel.
"Never Again" is not simply a slogan--it is a reaction to one of the worst genocides in human history. All of us need to remember that.
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