Blackmailing Bibi
Is the package of 'goodies' included in President Obama's proposal to Prime Minister Netanyahu really just blackmail (Hat Tip: Memeorandum). Until this weekend, most people assumed that Israel enjoyed an unconditional American promise to maintain its military edge, and a nearly unconditional promise to support it in the United Nations. Now it seems that President Obama is making the continuation of some of these things conditional on Israel's acceptance of a three-month settlement freeze, during which Israel will be pressed to agree final borders with a putative Palestinian state in the West Bank. That could be construed as a less confrontational, and more subtle, but no less effective version of the way George Bush senior forced a reluctant Yitzhak Shamir to the 1991 Madrid peace conference by withholding loan guarantees. Maybe, just maybe, the Obama peace push in Palestine has stronger legs than jaded onlookers have realised.It's worse than that. President Obama's promises to defend Israel in the United Nations come with an expiration date even if we do extend the 'settlement freeze.' The expiration date is one year out. And then? I would bet that he's willing to at least not veto - if not outright support - a resolution creating a 'Palestinian state' in the Security Council if we have not reached an agreement. By accepting Obama's offer, Netanyahu is at best gaining a one-year delay in what may be inevitable so long as Obama is President.
What could go wrong?
Labels: Barack Obama, Binyamin Netanyahu, blackmail
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:39 PM
3 Comments:
"I would bet that he's willing to at least not veto - if not outright support - a resolution creating a 'Palestinian state' in the Security Council if we have not reached an agreement."
I think you are right. And you can be sure that if this comes to pass and the inevitable war breaks out, Obama will not be on Israel's side then, either.
Yes, of course it's blackmail. Which is an excellent reason for rejecting it.
Obama is an idealogue, out of touch with reality, and a bully. He's a bully of his fellow Americans, too. One must stand up to bullies, or they just demand more.
A deal with an expiration date is not worth taking.
If Israel's leaders still take it, they are even stupider than I thought possible.
What could go wrong indeed
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