Why Israel cannot trust Obama
For those who are wondering why Israelis cannot trust the Obama administration, please consider the aftermath of Monday's promise that there will be 'no daylight' between Israel and the US on Gaza. Now, this morning, Doyle McManus writes in the Los Angeles Times that “Obama aides hope that backing Israel now will pay off on issues that are more important than the immediate controversy, and the administration has already begun using its support to press a broader agenda.”It kind of reminds you of the 'Palestinians' condemning terror attacks because they hurt the 'Palestinian' cause and then wondering why Israel complains that they don't really condemn terror attacks.
What exactly is that agenda? According to McManus:The first, short-term goal is to contain the diplomatic damage from the ferry debacle and to make sure the next boat that tries to run the blockade doesn't prompt another round of gunfire.So, over the course of two days, “no daylight” has essentially become “we told you so,” “perhaps you shouldn’t have done that,” and “we plan to use this to our advantage to further our agenda.”
The second is to persuade Israel to relax the Gaza blockade, something the administration has been demanding for months. Right now, Israel allows food and medicine into Gaza (although aid agencies charge not enough) but bars most building material and industrial supplies, crippling the area's economy. The aim was to hurt Hamas, but instead it is Israel that has been blamed.
The third goal is to induce Netanyahu to be more forthcoming in peace talks with the Palestinians, the administration's main aim all along.
But Israelis expect better from the United States.
The question I was asked in the US more often than any other was what do Israelis think of Obama. My response was that we hate him. That he is enormously unpopular here - more so than any other American President. Even Bush I never had popularity ratings here in the single digits.
And there's a good reason why Obama is so unpopular. You see it above.
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 5:52 AM
1 Comments:
As Barry Rubin wrote, when the dustup over Monday's raid on the Marmara dies, the blockade will remain in place. Israel is certainly not going to trust a hostile world to prevent the rearming of Hamas. As for Turkey, if Tayyep Erdogan wants to challenge Israel, it would be the last mistake the Turks make. With his open support for Hamas, Israel needs a friend like Turkey like it needs enemies. The truth is the issue isn't really about Gaza; its always been about Israel.
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