Intermarkets' Privacy Policy
Support


Donate to Ace of Spades HQ!



Recent Entries
Absent Friends
Bandersnatch 2024
GnuBreed 2024
Captain Hate 2023
moon_over_vermont 2023
westminsterdogshow 2023
Ann Wilson(Empire1) 2022
Dave In Texas 2022
Jesse in D.C. 2022
OregonMuse 2022
redc1c4 2021
Tami 2021
Chavez the Hugo 2020
Ibguy 2020
Rickl 2019
Joffen 2014
AoSHQ Writers Group
A site for members of the Horde to post their stories seeking beta readers, editing help, brainstorming, and story ideas. Also to share links to potential publishing outlets, writing help sites, and videos posting tips to get published. Contact OrangeEnt for info:
maildrop62 at proton dot me
Cutting The Cord And Email Security
Moron Meet-Ups






















« Sunday’s Question (genghis) | Main | Overnight Open Thread (genghis) »
June 14, 2009

Netanyahu's Response To Obama

Much anticipated and quite frankly much better to my mind in laying out the state of play than Obama's Cairo speech.

The big take away has been Netanyahu's acceptance of the so-called 'two-state solution'. It's mostly a big deal because his coalition partners are on record opposing that and he's never personally endorsed the idea. My guess is he got them to go along by pointing out everyone has been talking about this for 15 years or so and it's not an inch closer to happening, so what the hell.

More interesting to me was Netanyahu's conditions for bringing about this much hoped for around the world state of affairs.

This policy must take into account the international situation that has recently developed. We must recognise this reality and at the same time stand firmly on those principles essential for Israel. I have already stressed the first principle – recognition. Palestinians must clearly and unambiguously recognise Israel as the state of the Jewish people. The second principle is: demilitarisation. The territory under Palestinian control must be demilitarised with ironclad security provisions for Israel. Without these two conditions, there is a real danger that an armed Palestinian state would emerge that would become another terrorist base against the Jewish state, such as the one in Gaza. We don't want Kassam rockets on Petach Tikva, Grad rockets on Tel Aviv, or missiles on Ben-Gurion airport. We want peace.

In order to achieve peace, we must ensure that Palestinians will not be able to import missiles into their territory, to field an army, to close their airspace to us, or to make pacts with the likes of Hizbollah and Iran. On this point as well, there is wide consensus within Israel.

It is impossible to expect us to agree in advance to the principle of a Palestinian state without assurances that this state will be demilitarised.

On a matter so critical to the existence of Israel, we must first have our security needs addressed.

Therefore, today we ask our friends in the international community, led by the United States, for what is critical to the security of Israel: Clear commitments that in a future peace agreement, the territory controlled by the Palestinians will be demilitarised: namely, without an army, without control of its airspace, and with effective security measures to prevent weapons smuggling into the territory – real monitoring, and not what occurs in Gaza today. And obviously, the Palestinians will not be able to forge military pacts.

Yeah, um, who is going to enforce those commitments? US troops maybe? In the past Samantha "Hillary Is A Monster" Power suggested using US troops to impose an agreement, why not if the parties ask for them? Power by the way, was appointed to NSC staff.

If that's what Bibi is hinting at, it's a clever way to say to Obama, "Ok, put your money and US lives where your big mouth is". As Netanyahu knows, it also has the benefit of being a non-starter in the US. Can you imagine US troops patrolling the West Bank and Gaza? It would make Iraq and Afghanistan look like a kid's birthday party.

This is why so much of US involvement in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is simply window dressing. It's great to talk about peace and co-existence but when the rubber meets the road, no one knows what step 2 is. Contrary to popular belief

Step 1: Talk about peace

Step 2: ?

Step 3: Unicorns for everyone!

is not actually a workable policy. This is especially true when a large segment of the Palestinian population actually voted for Hamas, which you may recall, is still dedicated to driving the Jews into the sea.

This brings me to the next interesting contrast between the dueling Obama/Netanyahu speeches.


Obama traced the roots of the Israeli's existence and legitimacy to the Holocaust. That's historically incorrect and naturally puts Israel on the defensive.

Netanyahu laid out the 'rest of the story' as it were.

So far I have spoken about the need for Palestinians to recognise our rights. In a moment, I will speak openly about our need to recognise their rights. But let me first say that the connection between the Jewish people and the Land of Israel has lasted for more than 3500 years. Judea and Samaria, the places where Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, David and Solomon, and Isaiah and Jeremiah lived, are not alien to us. This is the land of our forefathers.

The right of the Jewish people to a state in the land of Israel does not derive from the catastrophes that have plagued our people. True, for 2000 years the Jewish people suffered expulsions, pogroms, blood libels, and massacres which culminated in a Holocaust – a suffering which has no parallel in human history. There are those who say that if the Holocaust had not occurred, the state of Israel would never have been established. But I say that if the state of Israel would have been established earlier, the Holocaust would not have occurred. This tragic history of powerlessness explains why the Jewish people need a sovereign power of self-defence. But our right to build our sovereign state here, in the land of Israel, arises from one simple fact: this is the homeland of the Jewish people, this is where our identity was forged. As Israel's first Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion proclaimed in Israel's Declaration of Independence: "The Jewish people arose in the land of Israel and it was here that its spiritual, religious and political character was shaped. Here they attained their sovereignty, and here they bequeathed to the world their national and cultural treasures, and the most eternal of books."

For some reason Obama omitted that stuff from his speech.

It's especially puzzling since Obama said in Cairo,

I consider it part of my responsibility as President of the United States to fight against negative stereotypes of Islam wherever they appear.

Apparently he doesn't feel it's part of his responsibility to fight against the stereotype of Jews as land grabbing, Johnny Come Latelys to the region.

Netanyahu also laid out the history of negotiations that have produced nothing but broken promises from the Palestinians and a useful primer on how the these two peoples have gotten to this point. Obama would do well to read the whole speech, he might learn something about a complex and old issues he seems hell bent on injecting himself and the US into.

While people will focus on Netanyahu's 'two-state' language (The White House calls the speech "important step forward".), the real story is he's tossing the ball back to Obama with a note saying 'just words' isn't going to change anything.

Call me a cynic but I'd bet we are going to pretty much where we are today on the day Obama leaves office. Some issues are even bigger than He is.

MORE:Palestinian reaction is about what you'd expect, whining combined with threats.

"The speech has destroyed all initiatives and expectations," the statement said. "It has also placed restrictions on all efforts to achieve peace and constitutes a clear challenge to the Palestinian, Arab and American positions."

Nabil Abu Rudaineh, a spokesman for Abbas, also lambasted Netanyahu for refusing to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of the future Palestinian state and his call for solving the issue of Palestinian refugees outside Israel.

"Netanyahu's remarks won't lead to a just and comprehensive peace based on United Nations resolutions," Abu Rudaineh added.

Yasser Abed Rabbo, a senior PLO official closely associated with Abbas, launched a scathing attack on Netanyahu, calling him a "swindler and liar."

Netanyahu wanted the Palestinians to join the Zionist movement by offering them a state under the protectorate of Israel, Abed Rabbo said. He also rejected Netanyahu's demand that the Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish state.

But it's the Jews fault for not just handing these people a state. As if they'd know what to do with a state if they ever get it.

digg this
posted by DrewM. at 05:17 PM

| Access Comments




Recent Comments
San Franpsycho: "I saw a video where kids would put traffic cones a ..."

runner: "One of these days.... ..."

runner: "Iceland is still on My List. ..."

NaCly Dog: "Citizen Cake About 200 nuclear weapons. And g ..."

Ian S.: "[I]50 states is just about right. Canada as territ ..."

runner: "ts a bridge to Greenland. Duh. Posted by: Oldcat ..."

Oldcat: "For easy access to UK oil would need to occupy Sco ..."

Ben Had: "SanFranpsycho, would you be comfortable emailing ..."

Mad Max in VA: "Serious question: why is it that when a Democrat P ..."

San Franpsycho: "The scariest subway ride I ever had was after a pa ..."

Ian S.: "If Canada becomes a state, it should be renamed to ..."

Hadrian the Seventh: " Taiwan as the 51st state. They could put their l ..."

Recent Entries
Search


Polls! Polls! Polls!
Frequently Asked Questions
The (Almost) Complete Paul Anka Integrity Kick
Top Top Tens
Greatest Hitjobs

The Ace of Spades HQ Sex-for-Money Skankathon
A D&D Guide to the Democratic Candidates
Margaret Cho: Just Not Funny
More Margaret Cho Abuse
Margaret Cho: Still Not Funny
Iraqi Prisoner Claims He Was Raped... By Woman
Wonkette Announces "Morning Zoo" Format
John Kerry's "Plan" Causes Surrender of Moqtada al-Sadr's Militia
World Muslim Leaders Apologize for Nick Berg's Beheading
Michael Moore Goes on Lunchtime Manhattan Death-Spree
Milestone: Oliver Willis Posts 400th "Fake News Article" Referencing Britney Spears
Liberal Economists Rue a "New Decade of Greed"
Artificial Insouciance: Maureen Dowd's Word Processor Revolts Against Her Numbing Imbecility
Intelligence Officials Eye Blogs for Tips
They Done Found Us Out, Cletus: Intrepid Internet Detective Figures Out Our Master Plan
Shock: Josh Marshall Almost Mentions Sarin Discovery in Iraq
Leather-Clad Biker Freaks Terrorize Australian Town
When Clinton Was President, Torture Was Cool
What Wonkette Means When She Explains What Tina Brown Means
Wonkette's Stand-Up Act
Wankette HQ Gay-Rumors Du Jour
Here's What's Bugging Me: Goose and Slider
My Own Micah Wright Style Confession of Dishonesty
Outraged "Conservatives" React to the FMA
An On-Line Impression of Dennis Miller Having Sex with a Kodiak Bear
The Story the Rightwing Media Refuses to Report!
Our Lunch with David "Glengarry Glen Ross" Mamet
The House of Love: Paul Krugman
A Michael Moore Mystery (TM)
The Dowd-O-Matic!
Liberal Consistency and Other Myths
Kepler's Laws of Liberal Media Bias
John Kerry-- The Splunge! Candidate
"Divisive" Politics & "Attacks on Patriotism" (very long)
The Donkey ("The Raven" parody)
Powered by
Movable Type 2.64