That's certainly what many in the AIPAC crowd seem to think. There seems to be a "harmonic convergence" of Right and "Left" on this point - no point trying to do anything, because Israel is the Boss.
On Tue, Mar 16, 2010 at 12:56 PM, Jim Devine <[email protected]> wrote: > in other words, Israel is the boss of Obama, at least when it comes to > Mideast issues. > > On Tue, Mar 16, 2010 at 10:29 AM, Louis Proyect <[email protected]> wrote: >> http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/rupert-cornwell-theres-no-sign-that-obama-will-punish-his-ally-1921815.html >> >> Rupert Cornwell: There's no sign that Obama will punish his ally >> >> The fracas over Israel's announcement of 1,600 new homes in disputed East >> Jerusalem is undoubtedly serious. But it also recalls the old children's >> ditty of how "sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never >> hurt me". >> >> The words have flown fast and furious in Washington since Israel, by >> accident or design, delivered this blow to the "peace process" with the >> Palestinians that the US is working so hard to revive - at the very moment >> vice-President Joe Biden was visiting the country. But there is no sign that >> the Obama administration, however genuine its anger, is about to take >> specific action to punish its ally. For that reason if no other, the talk of >> the worst crisis in relations between Washington and Jerusalem since Henry >> Kissinger demanded a partial withdrawal of Israeli forces from Sinai in 1975 >> seems exaggerated. >> >> In 1991, a comparable row over settlements expansion led the White House of >> George HW Bush to withhold housing loans guarantees to Israel. Two months >> ago, George Mitchell, the US envoy, hinted that similar action could be >> taken now. But nothing, at least so far, has happened. >> >> With his initial demand that the Israelis impose a total freeze on >> settlements, Barack Obama forgot the maxim of the great Labour foreign >> secretary Ernest Bevin that "the first thing to decide before you walk into >> any negotiation is what to do if the other chap says no". Israel said "no," >> and the Obama administration backed down. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu >> may well be calculating that he can call the administration's bluff again - >> for the simple reason that no US President dare ignore domestic political >> realities, least of all in an election year. >> >> AIPAC, the powerful pro-Israel lobbying organisation, has said that the US >> statements were a matter of "serious concern," and that Washington should >> "take immediate steps to defuse the tension," - in other words that Mr Obama >> should back down again. >> >> In what could be read as a warning as well as a statement of the obvious, it >> noted that the Jewish state enjoyed "vast bipartisan support in Congress and >> among the American people". Indeed, some even claim that the elder Bush's >> no-nonsense treatment of Israel contributed to his defeat by Bill Clinton in >> 1992. > -- > Jim Devine / "Segui il tuo corso, e lascia dir le genti." (Go your own > way and let people talk.) -- Karl, paraphrasing Dante. > _______________________________________________ > pen-l mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l > -- Robert Naiman Policy Director Just Foreign Policy www.justforeignpolicy.org [email protected] _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
