Israel Matzav

The frustrated Josh Landis

The Assad-regime's biggest tuches-licker in American academia is jumping for joy over the notion that President Obumbler has 'outsourced' criticizing Israel to Turkey.

The West has remained surprisingly silent in the Israel-Turkey spat. Erdoghan has won boisterous praise in the East, and few reprimands in the West for his tough criticism of Israel. Western politicians from one end of the political spectrum to the other are silently, satisfied to see Israel’s leadership brought up short for continuing to implant its citizens in the heart of what should be a future Palestinian state, making a mockery of Western efforts to jump-start negotiations, and ignoring regional peace offers.

Syria is also the beneficiary of this new Obama strategy – which might be called benign neglect.

There's only one problem: As Obama himself has recognized and as Landis himself points out, Obama is powerless to change American relations with Israel.

Obama is powerless to change America’s relationship with Israel. He continues to provide it with more and better arms. He cannot stop it from acquiring ever more Palestinian land and progressively whittling away at the prospect of a Palestinian state, but he can stop the US from acting as an overt cheerleader and advocate of this usurpation.

In the case of Syria, initial efforts to “remake the relationship” have been abandoned. No ambassador has been named. Sanctions have been reaffirmed, most strikingly with the recent refusal to allow Sarkozy to supply Airbuses to Syria causing serious ire in the Élysée Palace. All the same, Syria enjoys a period of delightful benign neglect from the White House. It is not being abused in the press. It has been allowed to reassert itself in Lebanon. Washington made no effort to stop Hariri’s visit to Damascus. Saudi Arabia has warmed up to Assad; the most recent visit by Assad to Riyadh lasted several days rather than the customary one. Turkey and Syria are still in the heady blush of young love after a century of estrangement. Obama has allowed the Iran deadline to slip by and is still holding out hope for a deal. The latest excuse not to do anything is that the Green movement is gaining traction and will take over somehow, relieving Washington of the task straightening out Tehran – something it is completely powerless to do. Rather than admit honestly, that Washington no longer has the authority in the international community or on the battle field force compliance from Iran, Washington prefers bluster. In some part, this is to placate pro-Israel sentiment among Americans.

Obama and his team undoubtedly understand that benign neglect is the only option they have to change the relationship with Israel. As Turkey assumes regional leadership, it will become a powerful and confident new voice in international affairs. It knows how to strike the correct note of moral disapproval without indicating anti-Semitism or enmity toward the Jewish state. Istanbul has a good track record toward Israel to prove its bona fides.

No. The only relationship that really matters for Israel is its relationship with the United States. That relationship is deep enough that Obama cannot change it. He is not an 'enthusiastic cheerleader' by any stretch, but it is becoming increasingly clear (and Tuesday's special election in Massachusetts should confirm it) that he will be a one-term President. No President can impose his agenda on the United States in any matter without cooperation from Congress. When it comes to Israel, Congress is smart enough not to cooperate. Ask Jimmy Carter. Turkish criticism of Israel will only hurt the Turks. It already has. Flights from here to Turkey are empty these days.

Obama has been silent on Syria's encroachments against its neighbors because Obama is a weak President all the way around. He has turned himself into a laughingstock around the world. Saudi Arabia 'warmed up' to Assad because they see how weak Obama is. But the United States is resilient. It will undo the mistake called Barack Hussein Obama in the 2012 elections, and it will reassert its position on the world stage. And when it does, brutal regimes like the Assad regime will once again be relegated to the shadows along with American professors from Oklahoma who lick its tuches.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 1:26 PM