Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Obama To Israel - Get Bent


The Obama Administration is sending a clear message that they no longer consider Israel as one of our most important allies but as an obstruction. And they couldn't care less about making it blatantly obvious.

IDF Chief of Staff General Gaby Ashkenazi made a special trip to Washington DC to discuss the Iran situation, but cut short his trip and left for the simple reason that no one with any major position in the administration wanted to be bothered with listening to anything he had to say:



Last year, Israeli Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi had no problem setting up meetings with top officials in the U.S. government.

On his current trip to Washington, Ashkenazi sought to meet the administration of President Barack Obama, but most officials were unavailable.

Diplomatic sources said Ashkenazi failed to obtain access to any Cabinet member, including Defense Secretary Robert Gates. The Israeli military chief, who sought to discuss the Iranian nuclear threat, won't even meet his counterpart, Adm. Michael Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

"The administration is sending a very clear message to Israel, and this is we want to talk about Palestine and not Iran," a diplomat who has been following U.S.-Israel relations said.

On March 12, Ashkenazi left for a five-day visit to the United States meant to lobby the Obama administration to abandon the planned U.S. dialogue with Iran. Ashkenazi, scheduled to meet with the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee, was expected to have brought new Israeli intelligence on Iran's nuclear weapons and missile programs.

But the diplomatic sources said the administration made it clear that nobody in a policy-making position was available to sit with Ashkenazi. This included the president, Vice President Joseph Biden, Gates, National Intelligence director Dennis Blair or Mullen.

"The Israeli government and military have been alarmed by the rapid and dramatic reversal in the U.S. policy toward Iran," the source said. "This reversal took place without any consultation with Israel, Gulf Arab countries or even Congress."

The sources said Israel has sought a U.S. commitment to limit its dialogue with Iran. Israel has also urged Obama to make it clear that the military option against Iran's nuclear program exists.

But Obama and his top aides appear uninterested in hearing Israel's position. The sources said a key aim of Ashkenazi was to urge the administration to release weapons and systems long sought by Israel in the area of aerial refueling, air-to-ground weapons, sensors as well as the F-22 fighter-jet.

"Ashkenazi sees this U.S. refusal as what has been undermining Israeli deterrence toward Iran and boosting the confidence of the Teheran regime," the source said. "The mullahs in regime have concluded that America has dropped the military option and won't allow such an option to Israel."


Nor is General Ashkenazi the only one getting stiffed.

Netanyahu's choice for head of his national security council is ex-Mossad chief Uzi Arad. He has been denied a visa to enter the USas an intelligence risk, believe it or not on trumped up charges stemming from the farcical AIPAC case which is on the verge of being thrown out of court. This in a country where Sandy Berger got off for actually stealing classified documents with a mere slap on the wrist, and the Obama Administration just set aside $20.3 million dollars to help Hamas migrate to America!

President Obama's foreign policy direction is crystal clear. He has accepted the leftist doctrine that the problems in the Muslim world are all the fault of the evil colonialist West, so he plans to placate them as much as necessary.That's what's behind his distancing himself and his administration from Israel, and from Britain, which is seen in the Arab world as a former occupier and colonial power.

In that context, the Obama Administration could care less about the implications of Iran having nuclear weapons. They don't see that as a threat to the new policy of moving closer to the Muslim world...and the last thing they want is for those pesky Jews in Israel to upset things.

Part of that policy will also involve maximum pressure Israel to impose a settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict on the Arab's terms, including flooding Israel with thousands of Palestinian 'refugees'. The legitimization of Hamas by the Obama Administration will be just the beginning.

I certainly hope that the many American Jews that helped vote this president into power with the naive idea that he was 'pro-Israel' are starting to realize what they've done.

They'll understand that far better in the future, when, to paraphrase Obama's old mentor Reverend Wright, the chickens come home to roost in a very personal and painful way.

3 comments:

Nameless Cynic said...

OH, NOEZ! Obama is cutting off Israel without listening to them! Ashkenazi had to go back without talking to ANYBODY!!

Well, except for Gen. James Jones, President Obama's national security adviser, and with Dennis Ross, the senior State Department official crafting Iran policy.

And then Ashkenazi cut the trip short to attend talks regarding the release of a captive.

The AIPAC case, incidentally, is not "on the verge of being thrown out of court," and citing an op-ed that says it should be doesn't prove anything. (Rosen is charged under the 1917 Espionage Act, but not for spying. The section cited in the indictment deals only with handling sensitive information. You know that, right? The government has always taken these things seriously.)

the Obama Administration just set aside $20.3 million dollars to help Hamas migrate to America!. Dude, you really need to calm down. I mean, the Presidential Determination you cite is only a paragraph long. You could read it before you get all bent out of shape.

"...for the purpose of meeting unexpected and urgent refugee and migration needs, including by contributions to international, governmental, and nongovernmental organizations and payment of administrative expenses of Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration of the Department of State, related to humanitarian needs of Palestinian refugees and conflict victims in Gaza."

Relax, Sparky. That whole "Hamas coming to America" thing is an urban myth being put out by republican tools to try and spin Obama as being anti-Israel.

Sorry, Rob, but this whole entry is intellectually lazy, and riddled with factual distortions. You really need to do better.

Anonymous said...

This may be just as well, at least for Israel. I have been saying for some time that Israel needs to chart a course for its domestica and foreign policies that is separate from America. Israel does not need America, however, America does need Israel.

America needs a strong Israel that can act completely independently to act as a buffer against it and Islamic terrorists. Also, America needs the intellegence on its enemies that Israel has been willing and able to provide. On the other hand Israel can get nothing of value from America. The Israelis should seek a course for their polices that is separate and distinct from America. The sooner they do this the better.

As for the "Gulf States" I see no pratical reason to consult with them. In any conflict between America and Iran they will side with Iran any way.

Israel does not need for America to "allow" it to attack Iranian nuclear facilities. The American military is worn down from its continued involvement in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere in the GWOT and its technology is out dated. As such, America would not be able to prevent the Israelis from acting militarily to take out the Iranian nuclear program.

Obama is a complete numb skull. This is all the more reason for Israel to chart polices for its domestic and foreign policies that are separate from America. If Israel wants to talk to someone, they should talk to the leading power on earth which is Russia or even the second leading power which is China.

America is a former major power whose days in such a position are largely over. It is a waste of time for Israeli officials to even chat with American leaders. America can do nothing of consequence to Israel nor can they do any thing meaningful to help Israel. With Russia or China this may be a different story.

Freedom Fighter said...

Cynic, You're sadly misinformed.

Do you think I don't read my own links?

Ashkenazi did meet with Jones, and the article says so, but only to talk about the dangerous concessions the Obama administration wants to force on Israel vis a vis their preferred terrorists in Fatah..not about Iran. And Dennis Ross is not 'in charge of crafting policy with Iran'. And he's not a decision maker, but a diplomatic envoy to South Asia. And Ashkenazi specifically stated that he would only return in the event of an imminent deal concerning Israeli kidnap victim Gilad Shalit...which was not the case. He left because he was unable to get an audience on Iran with anyone of influence in the Administration.

As for Hamas, if you look at the link provided, you'll see that the legislation Obama based his executive order on specifically refers to migration assistance. Nice try, no sale.

The Obama administration even now is pushing for a Fatah/Hamas unity government, hiding behind the fiction that Hamas will 'recognize' Israel.They never will, and for that matter, Fatah kingpin Mahmoud Dahlan emphasized that Fatah doesn't either, which is true. The Palestinian Authority has, but since that basically consists of Fatah, it's meaningless.

The Obama Admionistration will legitimize Hamas no matter what..wait and see. An dthey will do nothing to stop Iran getting the bomb.Think about the Mullahs smuggling a nuke over our porous southern borders, maybe to one of theHezbollah cells already here in America and see if that makes you feel like this is just Israel's problem.

Oh, that 'espionage' case. Google it. The government has lost point after point in court and is on the verge of folding.

Onced again Cynic, you're ideological warp interferes with your thinking, I'm afraid.

Try Daily Kos. I really think they're more up your alley.

Regards,
Rob