So much for 'direct talks'
How many of you have children? What do you do when one of them comes crying to you that another is 'bothering me' or is being 'annoying'? We're going to see soon whether Barack Obama has learned enough parenting skills from Sasha and Malia to tell Abu Bluff to go back to the table and work out his own problems with Binyamin Netanyahu. Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas has publicly put U.S. President Barack Obama on the spot, telling reporters that he asked the president to “intervene in the settlement issue,” the Associated Press reported.Obama has three choices. He can tell Abu Bluff to shut up and go back to the table. He can agree with Abu Bluff, call Bibi in, and tell him to either extend the 'settlement freeze' or be blamed for the 'talks' failure. Or Obama can tell Abu Bluff to sit tight until November and all will be alright.
President Obama has sided with the PA, describing as “illegitimate” all Jewish communities in areas where the PA demands sovereignty, including neighborhoods in Jerusalem where 300,000 Jews live. However, he has stopped short of publicly telling Israel it will be at fault if Abbas quits the talks over the freeze issue.
Abbas’ public statement that he asked President Obama to intervene comes at a time when the president is suffering sinking popularity, with polls indicating that the Republican party will wipe away his majority in the House of Representatives and possibly in the Senate.
The first choice would probably result in the 'Palestinians' walking away. That would be a political disaster for Obama right now - he'd have nothing to show in November.
The second choice would be an even bigger political disaster for Obama. Most Americans support Israel. Obama can't antagonize Israel's supporters now.
I'd bet on the third choice. Abu Mazen will be told to sit quietly until November, and then Obama will confront Israel.
What could go wrong?
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 8:23 PM
2 Comments:
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I heard Hagel speak once at the Brookings Institution on the topic of, you guessed it, global warming. And didn't I read that Hagel is under consideration for the post of Sec'y of Defense when Sec'y Gates retires? Yikes. They won't be able to block the czars, but hopefully a re-shuffled congress could block approval of a loony-leftist Sec'y of Defense!!!!
Obama will do nothing to deal with the root cause of the failure of direct talks to gain momentum - PA intransigence. And if Israel does agree to extend the freeze, the PA will simply find another excuse not to talk.
They don't want peace - and the message isn't getting through either in Jerusalem or in Washington.
What could go wrong indeed
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