Does Obama have a plan?
To the extent that Barack Hussein Obama has a plan for the Middle East, I suspect it's summed up by the two pictures at the top of this post. But of course, since this is 2011 and not 2013, he cannot come out and say it yet.The New York Times' Helene Cooper reports on what's purported to be a debate within the White House over whether President Obumbler should try to one-up Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu by presenting a 'peace plan' before Netanyahu arrives to address a joint session of Congress in May. Obama and Hillary Clinton - whose clock is ticking at this point - say yes. Dennis Ross says no (Hat Tip: Memeorandum).
“People seem to think that whoever goes first gets the upper hand,” said Daniel Levy, a former Israeli peace negotiator and a director at the New America Foundation. Using Mr. Netanyahu’s nickname, he said: “If Bibi went first and didn’t lay out a bold peace plan, it would be harder for Obama to say, actually, despite what you said to Congress and their applause, this is what I think you should do.”Israel Radio raised the possibility on Thursday evening that Obama would not make a proposal because it would be embarrassing for him to have it instantly rejected by both sides (Netanyahu won't agree to a 'Palestinian state' that is tied to the 1967 borders and Abu Bluff won't agree to no right of return to 'Israel proper'). There may be something to that line of thought.
The political gamesmanship between the two men illustrates how the calculation in the Middle East has changed for a variety of reasons, including the political upheaval in the Arab world. But it also shows the lack of trust and what some officials say is personal animosity between Mr. Obama and Mr. Netanyahu.
White House officials are working on drafts of a possible proposal, but they have not decided how detailed it will be, or even whether the president will deliver it in a planned speech. If Mr. Obama does put forward an American plan, officials say it could include four principles, or terms of reference, built around the final status issues that have bedeviled peace negotiators since 1979.
The terms of reference could call for Israel to accept a Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders. For their part, Palestinians would have to accept that they would not get the right of return to land in Israel from which they fled or were forced to flee. Jerusalem would be the capital of both states, and Israeli security would have to be protected.
Mr. Netanyahu has made it clear that he wants Israel’s security needs addressed before any peace deal with the Palestinians. He has become even more concerned about security because shifts in power among Arab states in recent months have weakened Israel’s already fragile relations with its neighbors, particularly Egypt.
...
Two American officials, speaking on condition of anonymity out of diplomatic caution, said they thought that if Mr. Netanyahu intended to make a bold proposal for a peace deal with the Palestinians, he would do so before his own people in the Knesset.
Netanyahu, on the other hand, is coming under pressure to make his proposal here, if he is going to make one at all, and not in the United States. Some of you may even recall that there were Knesset members who were upset that Netanyahu's response to Obama's Cairo speech was at Bar Ilan University in 2009, and not in the Knesset.
I can see Netanyahu unveiling a proposal - or parts of one - in Israel but I cannot see him doing so in the Knesset. He wouldn't want the catcalls for a serious speech.
But is he going to make a proposal, and if so, what will he say? I'd bet on him making a proposal. I don't think it will go much further than his Bar Ilan proposal two years ago. And while he might make it in Israel, he won't make it in the Knesset. Besides, he'd be speaking to Barack Obama and not to the Knesset anyway.
What could go wrong?
Labels: Barack Obama, Binyamin Netanyahu, Israeli Knesset, joint session of Congress, Middle East peace process
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 10:20 PM
4 Comments:
Dudes, I would not pressure anybody to do anything, given that the King of the World Obama has cut loose the Muslim Bros and the Iran Mullahs, has bombed both sides of the Libya thing, and is lining up funds for these guys (along with Machete Shabab Odinga in Kenya and the Al Qaeda guys who have been killing U.S. troops for a decade):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrAqcd5WgHY&skipcontrinter=1
This is not B. Netanyahu's fault. These internationals do not believe in the 10 commandments. They think they are hip and cool if they are sophisticated and worldly enough to think bloody hacking is understandable in the name of fairness. Support the leader(s) of Israel through this disaster.
BTW, I hope Netanyahu will schedule in several hours (at least) for a one-to-one meeting with Allen West. That guy knows (he's a military man who was deployed)... They need to talk in depth.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=rCrG6TzG-nw
Hmm... I think I sent the wrong link in that last comment... meant to send this one, which is on topic:
Rep. Allen West: “I’m Sick & Tired of The Marxist Demagogic Rhetoric Coming From the President” (Video)
http://gatewaypundit.rightnetwork.com/2011/04/rep-allen-west-im-sick-tired-of-this-marxist-demagogic-rhetoric-of-the-president-video/
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