Rubio promises 'reset' of US-Israel relations
Republican Presidential candidate Marco Rubio has
promised a 'reset' of US-Israel relations if he is elected President of the United States.
"I believe my election or the election of someone like me, in and by
itself will help reset that relationship in the eyes of the world,”
Rubio said, the Jewish Insider's Jacob Kornbluh reported.
According to the Florida senator, the Obama administration
deliberately created distance between the U.S. and Israel in an effort
to improve the U.S. standing and its perception in the Muslim world.
"It's been a disaster," he added.
The Republican candidate said the Obama administration damaged the relationship with Israel by briefly suspending military sales during the last Gaza war,
and by making an implied threat that the U.S. won't use its veto power
in the UN Security Council against a possible resolution recognizing a
Palestinian state.
Rubio also slammed Obama for treating Iran's supreme leader with
"more respect" than Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, due to Israel's
opposition to the Iran nuclear deal.
Sounds right to me.
Labels: Barack Hussein Obama, Marco Rubio, reset button, US presidential campaign 2016, US-Israel relationship
Soccer Dad's Middle East Media Sampler
Here's Soccer Dad's Middle East Media Sampler for Friday, September 21.
1) Reset
Exhibit A:
President Obama's Nowruz greetings to the people of Iran - March 19, 2009
So in this season of new beginnings I would like to speak clearly to
Iran's leaders. We have serious differences that have grown over time.
My administration is now committed to diplomacy that addresses the full
range of issues before us, and to pursuing constructive ties among the
United States, Iran and the international community. This process will
not be advanced by threats. We seek instead engagement that is honest
and grounded in mutual respect.
You, too, have a choice. The United States wants the Islamic Republic
of Iran to take its rightful place in the community of nations. You
have that right -- but it comes with real responsibilities, and that
place cannot be reached through terror or arms, but rather through
peaceful actions that demonstrate the true greatness of the Iranian
people and civilization. And the measure of that greatness is not the
capacity to destroy, it is your demonstrated ability to build and
create.
So on the occasion of your New Year, I want you, the people and leaders
of Iran, to understand the future that we seek. It's a future with
renewed exchanges among our people, and greater opportunities for
partnership and commerce. It's a future where the old divisions are
overcome, where you and all of your neighbors and the wider world can
live in greater security and greater peace.
Michael Rubin - Iran Endgame - September 10, 2012
Barack Obama made outreach to Iran the cornerstone of his policy
toward that country. In his first interview as president, he declared,
"If countries like Iran are willing to unclench their fist, they will
find an extended hand from us." In effect, though, this desperate
diplomacy transformed Obama into Tehran's useful idiot. By offering to
negotiate without preconditions, Obama unilaterally waived five previous
Security Council resolutions that required Iran to cease uranium
enrichment unconditionally. Hassan Rowhani, Iran's former nuclear
negotiator, bragged about how the regime had often embraced dialogue not
to resolve conflict but to buy time.
Seeking to avoid antagonizing the regime, Obama turned his back on
protesters who rose up against it in 2009. His conciliation won him no
favors. On November 4, 2009, the 30th anniversary of the U.S. embassy
seizure, Khamenei ridiculed Obama and his outreach. "This new president
of America said beautiful things. He sent us messages constantly, both
orally and written: 'Come and let us turn the page, come and create a
new situation, come and let us cooperate in solving the problems of the
world.' It reached this degree!" Khamenei then told assembled students
that any agreement with America was off the table.
Exhibit B:
President Obama's speech before Turkey's Parliament, April 6, 2009
This is my first trip overseas as President of the United States.
I've been to the G20 summit in London, and the NATO summit in
Strasbourg, and the European Union summit in Prague. Some people have
asked me if I chose to continue my travels to Ankara and Istanbul to
send a message to the world. And my answer is simple: Evet -- yes.
(Applause.) Turkey is a critical ally. Turkey is an important part of
Europe. And Turkey and the United States must stand together -- and work
together -- to overcome the challenges of our time.
...
I know there have been difficulties these last few years. I know that
the trust that binds the United States and Turkey has been strained, and
I know that strain is shared in many places where the Muslim faith is
practiced. So let me say this as clearly as I can: The United States is
not, and will never be, at war with Islam. (Applause.) In fact, our
partnership with the Muslim world is critical not just in rolling back
the violent ideologies that people of all faiths reject, but also to
strengthen opportunity for all its people.
I also want to be clear that America's relationship with the Muslim
community, the Muslim world, cannot, and will not, just be based upon
opposition to terrorism. We seek broader engagement based on mutual
interest and mutual respect. We will listen carefully, we will bridge
misunderstandings, and we will seek common ground. We will be
respectful, even when we do not agree. We will convey our deep
appreciation for the Islamic faith, which has done so much over the
centuries to shape the world -- including in my own country. The United
States has been enriched by Muslim Americans. Many other Americans have
Muslims in their families or have lived in a Muslim-majority country -- I
know, because I am one of them. (Applause.)
Barry Rubin - This Week, Turkey Went a Long Way Toward Becoming an Islamic Republic, June 7, 2012
We are not talking of someone criticizing Say or disagreeing with
him. We are talking about the power of the Turkish state being used to
charge a man with a crime and to send him to prison for exercising free
speech. True, they are only asking for a sentence of eighteen months in
prison, but once the precedent is set their ambitions will expand.
There are already hundreds of political prisoners in Turkey today who
have been in prison for over three years without any trial. Now, if
criticizing Islam in Turkey is a crime, Turkey is not a secular state.
And with all of those innocent people already thrown in jail by the
regime on trumped-up charges of treason and terrorism, Turkey is no
longer a democratic state, either. (For a study of the conspiracy
charges — actually a wave of repression and intimidation seeking to
quell opposition to Turkey’s fundamental transformation — see this detailed article by Gareth Jenkins in MERIA Journal.)
This is the country that the Obama administration views as a role model
for other Muslim-majority countries. In fact, though, Turkey is going
down the same road of repression. In Saudi Arabia, a young man was
recently indicted, extradited back from Malaysia, and put on trial for a
similar offense. But we know where Saudi Arabia stands. Islamists in
Egypt wanted to do the same to a leading Christian businessman for
posting a picture of Mickey and Minnie Mouse in “Islamic” garb.
Exhibit C:
President Obama's Speech at Cairo University - June 4, 2009
I've come here to Cairo to seek a new beginning between the United
States and Muslims around the world, one based on mutual interest and
mutual respect, and one based upon the truth that America and Islam are
not exclusive and need not be in competition. Instead, they overlap,
and share common principles -- principles of justice and progress;
tolerance and the dignity of all human beings.
I do so recognizing that change cannot happen overnight. I know there's
been a lot of publicity about this speech, but no single speech can
eradicate years of mistrust, nor can I answer in the time that I have
this afternoon all the complex questions that brought us to this point.
But I am convinced that in order to move forward, we must say openly to
each other the things we hold in our hearts and that too often are said
only behind closed doors. There must be a sustained effort to listen
to each other; to learn from each other; to respect one another; and to
seek common ground. As the Holy Koran tells us, "Be conscious of God
and speak always the truth." (Applause.) That is what I will try to do
today -- to speak the truth as best I can, humbled by the task before
us, and firm in my belief that the interests we share as human beings
are far more powerful than the forces that drive us apart.
...
This last point is important because there are some who advocate for
democracy only when they're out of power; once in power, they are
ruthless in suppressing the rights of others. (Applause.) So no matter
where it takes hold, government of the people and by the people sets a
single standard for all who would hold power: You must maintain your
power through consent, not coercion; you must respect the rights of
minorities, and participate with a spirit of tolerance and compromise;
you must place the interests of your people and the legitimate workings
of the political process above your party. Without these ingredients,
elections alone do not make true democracy.
Charles Krauthammer - Collapse of the Cairo Doctrine - September 21, 2012
It’s now three years since the Cairo speech. Look around. The Islamic
world is convulsed with an explosion of anti-Americanism. From Tunisia
to Lebanon, American schools, businesses and diplomatic facilities set
ablaze. A U.S. ambassador and three others murdered in Benghazi. The
black flag of Salafism, of which al-Qaeda is a prominent element, raised
over our embassies in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen and Sudan.
The administration, staggered and confused, blames it all on a 14-minute
trailer for a film no one has seen and may not even exist.
What else can it say? Admit that its doctrinal premises were supremely
naive and its policies deeply corrosive to American influence?
2) Pretty far from the tree
Pat Buchanan in September 1990:
"There are only two groups that are beating the drums for war in the
Middle East - the Israeli Defense Ministry and its amen corner in the
United States...
The Israelis want this war desperately because they want the United
States to destroy the Iraqi war machine. They want us to finish them
off. They don't care about our relations with the Arab world."
Tree:
A.M. Rosenthal:
Mr. Buchanan knows the importance of words. He wrote for Presidents
Nixon and Reagan and now makes a fine living writing columns, making
speeches, talking on TV, presenting himself as the voice of true
conservatism. He is the man who told Elie Wiesel that Mr. Reagan must
not surrender to ''Jewish pressure'' against visiting a German cemetery
where SS men were buried, as if only Jews could care.
Mr. Buchanan surely understands that if the U.S. attacks Iraq, Saddam
Hussein may hit Israel and kill as many Israelis as he can. We can
assume Mr. Buchanan has heard that some real non-Jewish types like the
leaders of a half-dozen Arab states now know that Saddam Hussein can-not
be bought off by blackmail; they want his power destroyed. And he must
have enough contacts in the White House, National Security Council and
Defense Department to know that there are people there who feel the same
way - non-Jews!
It doesn't matter what he knows. What counts is his venom about Jews. In
one column, he denounced five people for supporting military action
against Iraq - all Jews, including me. I was silently contemptuous of
him. But about his infamous statement on ''The McLaughlin Report'' about
Jews beating the war drums for Israel - contempt yes, silence no.
Maureen Dowd, September 16, 2012:
“Off the record, Paris is burning,” Senor told a group of reporters a
year into the war. “On the record, security and stability are returning
to Iraq.”
Before he played ventriloquist to Ryan, Senor did the same for Romney,
ratcheting up the candidate’s irresponsible bellicosity on the Middle
East. Senor was the key adviser on Romney’s disastrous trip to Israel in
July, when Mittens infuriated the Palestinians by making a
chuckleheaded claim about their culture.
Senor got out over his skis before Romney’s speech in Jerusalem, telling
reporters that Mitt would say he respected Israel’s right to make a
pre-emptive, unilateral attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities.
Apple:
Andrew Rosenthal, September 16, 2012
"No fair-minded reading of Maureen Dowd's column supports the
allegations you and others are making. She makes no reference, direct or
implied, to anyone's religion."
3) What? No riots?
MEMRI reports:
In November 2011, MEMRI published a report about the Iranian antisemitic film Saturday Hunter,
which was first screened at a Tehran film festival and then in Iranian
movie theaters, and was posted on the Internet that month. The film's
plot centers around Zionist Rabbi Hanan, an Orthodox Jew who takes it
upon himself to teach his grandson Benjamin to create a war machine to
destroy all the nations. His little grandson Benjamin becomes the
fearless warrior that his grandfather wishes
Another MEMRI report, published in January 2012,
noted that the film's director, Mohammad Qahremani, said of the film
that it "portrays the Zionist crimes against the defenseless Palestinian
people. It presents the extremist Zionist ideology, which calls for the
killing of Palestinians and the plundering of their land, which are
deemed a religious duty... [and] the Zionist brainwashing, which is
passed down from one generation to another."[1]
According to MEMRI the film played again last month on Iranian
television. No riots in Israel or any other community with a strong
Jewish presence were reported. (h/t Seraphic Secret)
Labels: Barack Hussein Obama, Cairo, Iranian engagement, Islam, Islamic anti-Semitism, Middle East Media Sampler, New York Times, reset button, Soccer Dad, Turkey
Obama seeking to portray START as a Jewish interest
Let me say at the outset of this post that I have no strong feelings one way or the other about the START treaty, but like everything else that comes out of the Obama White House, I regard it with suspicion. On the other hand, I do not understand the 'fierce moral urgency' to have it ratified during a lame duck session of Congress, especially when the Democrats will retain control of the Senate in January subject to filibuster. There are much more urgent items on the agenda. The Bush tax cuts come to mind.
Be that as it may, Obama and his cronies are trying to turn ratification of the START treaty into an issue for the pro-Israel and Jewish community. So far, AIPAC is refusing to play along, as is the ISraeli government (cleverly citing the administration's objections to Prime Minister Netanyahu's meeting with Representative Eric Cantor (R-Va). If the story I posted a few hours ago about Obama and Clinton pulling a bait and switch on Netanyahu turns out to be true, I am sure the Israeli government will continue to sit on the sidelines.
But why try to turn this into an Israeli issue at all? Josh Rogin
tries to explain (Hat Tip:
Mememorandum).
Vice President Joseph Biden explained why the New START treaty was critical to the effort to isolate Iran in a small roundtable with foreign policy columnists, including your humble Cable guy, at the White House Nov. 19.
“I’m not suggesting that if START fails, all of the sudden we’re back in the Cold War with Russia but I am saying that the things in the margins that make a big difference right now might very well be different,” Biden said, referring to what he called “unprecedented” Russian cooperation on Iran and Afghanistan.
He praised Russia’s decision to forgo selling the S-300 air defense missile to Iran as well as Moscow’s cooperation in bringing new multilateral sanctions against Tehran via the U.N. Security Council. “Absent that cooperation I think [it] is problematic whether or not China or even Europe would have made some of the tougher sanctions decisions that we made,” Biden said.
Back on Capitol Hill, staffers on both sides of the issue are well aware of the administration’s recent activity but had starkly different views on its wisdom and efficacy.
“The idea that this administration, which has manifestly undermined the U.S.-Israel relationship at every turn, would gin up pro-Israel groups to ram this treaty through in the lame duck [session] is a new low, even for an administration that has made a habit of alienating friends and allies,” said one senior GOP Senate aide involved in the issue.
But another Senate aide who is involved in both the New START and Iran issues saw the logic of linking the two.
“It’s politically smart to do this. Once of the central arguments that the administration has been making is that the START treaty is important due to its impact on U.S.-Russia relations and one of the achievements has been to convince Russia to adopt a more cooperative approach on Iran,” the aide said.
But the jury is still out on whether advocacy by pro-Israel groups can cause senior Senate Republicans to rethink their positions. “The center of gravity is still Jon Kyl so I don’t know how it effective it will be in influencing his calculations,” the aide said.
In other words, the administration has found yet another thing to which it can hold hostage the prospect of actually doing something to stop Iran. A new low? Maybe. But given this administration's behavior, the next one is probably not far away.
Labels: Iran sanctions regime, reset button, START
