According to the Jerusalem Post, 327 United States congressmen have signed a letter stating that the current tension between Israel and America do not advance the interests of either state. Admittedly that is rather obvious, but the interesting part to me is that it only took them three days to get the 327 signatures. President Obama's treatment of Israel was rude and unjustifiable; it was out of step with Congress and the American people.
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu met with his six senior ministers (the 'Septet') on Friday to discuss his trip to the United States and the demands of President Obama.
The article points out:
"The US had been pressing for a quick reply to then take to the Arab League meeting in Libya and try to get that group's backing for proximity talks - an eventuality that now seems increasingly unlikely. The US demands, and Netanyahu's trip, are expected to come up at Sunday's weekly meeting of the full cabinet."
I think most Americans would like to see peace between Israel and her neighbors, but why are we acting like Neville Chamberlain and refusing to see the increasing militarism of Israel's enemies?
There are a few things that may explain President Obama's recent horrible treatment of Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. First of all, regardless of how you feel about him as a President, President Obama is a relatively intelligent man. He is quite capable of setting a goal and forming a plan to achieve it. Peace in the Middle East would be a crowning achievement for his presidency. The Arab countries are not known for their flexibility. The current prime minister of Israel is not going to sacrifice his country in the name of peace. If President Obama can create enough tension between the United States and Israel and make it look as if the problem is Netanyahu, he may be able to bring down the current government of Israel and have it replaced with a government that will give away the country in the name of peace. Remember, President Obama was a community organizer--he knows how to stir up discontent.
The other aspect of this, which is more disturbing, is President Obama's lack of forcefulness in dealing with Iran. President Obama wants to win the war in Afghanistan quickly and bring the troops home (we all do, but there are some differences in how we should do that). Currently, Iran is training Al Qaeda 'soldiers', providing materials for IED's (improvised explosive devices), and doing anything it can to kill Americans in Afghanistan. President Obama may believe that if he comes down hard on Israel and lets Iran develop nuclear weapons, Iran will stop its efforts in Afghanistan.
Just a quick note on Iran's nuclear program. The only successful and reasonable way to stop Iran's nuclear program is to overthrown the current rulers of Iran. Nothing else will work.
It is encouraging to see Congress support Israel. My hope is that they can put enough pressure of the President to do the same.
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