NY Times' Friedman calls for US troops to build a 'Palestinian' reichlet
New York Slimes columnist Tom Friedman, who fancies himself an 'expert' on our region, seems to suggest in Sunday's column that the United States should commit troops to building a 'Palestinian' That said, once Obama is able to think afresh about the Middle East, he will find that the Bush team has left an interesting legacy here: 140,000 U.S. soldiers doing nation-building in Iraq and one U.S. soldier — actually a three-star U.S. Army general — doing nation-building in the West Bank. We need a better balance.Unfortunately, in today's Washington, Friedman's views may not be far from government policy. Earlier this week, President Hopenchange quietly appointed Samantha Power (pictured top left) to the National Security Council's multilateral institutions office. Power was forced to resign from Obama's campaign in March 2008 after calling current Secretary of State and then Obama rival Hillary Clinton a 'monster.' But in the Jewish community, Power is better known for another undiplomatic 'slip of the tongue.' For those who have forgotten or for whom the name doesn't ring a bell, let's go to the videotape.
Somehow I doubt that Friedman's suggestion in Sunday's column was meant to be ignored or that its timing was coincidental.
For those of you who choose to follow the first link and read Friedman's entire article, most of it lavishes praise on General Keith Dayton and his 'training' of the 'Palestinian police.' A far different view of that training - from someone in a far better position than Friedman to observe it up close - is presented here.
The fact that the 'police force' is able to maintain control over Jenin proves nothing due to the presence of IDF troops in the vicinity. Were the IDF to leave, the odds are that Judea and Samaria would immediately fall to Hamas. And were the IDF to leave, you can bet that many of those 'policemen' would start to look away when terrorist rockets began falling on Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Ben Gurion airport. We've been there and done that, thank you.
By the way, is anyone else aware of a 'police force' elsewhere in the world (aside from Gaza) that is armed with AK-47's?
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 12:02 PM
7 Comments:
well if YOU had to police palestinians, wouldn't you want an ak-47 instead of a pansy sidearm?
AK-47 or M16, WANTS THE DIFFERENCE.
This comment has been removed by the author.
If you look Samantha Power's most joyful moments, they come at these times:
(0.58) "alienating a domestic constituency of [laugh] tremendous political and financial import."
Here, she's referring to to America's Jews and literally motions towards to Friedman, the Jewish presenter. She also then makes the gesture of holding someone down.
(1:59) [micro-smile to presenter, and then looks to exit] "fundamentally undemocratic"
(2:09) "certain policies that are meant to guide, [smiles] or meant to anyway"
(2:20) "to destroy the lives [giggle] of their own people"
Terrible, terrible woman.
Carl - and given Tom Friedman's earlier Rubik's Cube fantasy revolving around an imposed settlement, his article misses one very important point - the Palestinians have never been able to build a functioning government that can stand on its own two feet. And it is a certainty that if Israel were to ever leave the "West Bank", the PA would fall in short order and be replaced by Hamas. The last thing on earth Israel should do is place its national security in the hands of an Arab regime. What Friedman does not get is the real obstacle to a two state solution today is the core issue of Palestinian rejection of Israel's existence. That is why all the foreign assistance in birthing a Palestinian reichlet will never be enough to make it happen.
It looks like Obama is getting ready to throw the Israelis under the bus. Only they will fight back tooth and nail.
Obama and his envoy Mitchell will fail, no doubt, just like all the predecessors, the Palestinian street doesn't want peace (or know what the word means), and the extremists won't let it happen. Obama is so, so arrogant, and such a con man, that he has to try. It'll fail, then he'll blame Israel, probably sooner rather than later.
When it all goes bad, he'll blame the agressive an unaccomadating Israelis, and have a good back office laugh with Power with the mess that Israel is in, thinking "well at least I tried."
Obama should say: "I am going to put Israel on the backburner, anyone that wants me or USA to interfere should back off, including big oil." Now that would be change.
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