VDH:
Israel would seem to be in a disastrous position, given the inevitable nuclear capabilities of Iran and the recent deterioration of its relationship with the United States, its former patron and continued financial benefactor.
Immediately upon entering office, President Obama hectored Israel on so-called settlements. Obama promised to put “daylight” between the U.S. and Israel — and delivered on that promise.
Last week, the U.S. declined to veto, and therefore allowed to pass, a United Nations resolution that, among other things, isolates Israel internationally and condemns the construction of housing in East Jerusalem and the West Bank.
Obama has long been at odds with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Over objections from the Obama administration, Netanyahu addressed a joint session of Congress last year about the existential dangers of the Obama-brokered Iran deal and the likelihood of a new Middle East nuclear-proliferation race.
Obama then doubled down on his irritation with Netanyahu through petty slights, such as making him wait during White House visits. In 2014, an official in the Obama administration anonymously said Netanyahu, a combat veteran, was a “coward” on Iran.
At a G-20 summit in Cannes, France, in 2011, Obama, in a hot-mic slip, trashed Netanyahu. He whined to French president Nicolas Sarkozy: “You’re tired of him? What about me? I have to deal with him every day.”
In contrast, Obama bragged about his “special” relationship with autocratic Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Never mind that Erdogan seems to want to reconstruct Turkey as a modern Islamist version of the Ottoman Empire, or that he is anti-democratic while Israel is a consensual society of laws.
The Middle East surrounding democratic Israel is a nightmare. Half a million have died amid the moonscape ruins of Syria. A once-stable Iraq was overrun by the Islamic State.
The Arab Spring, U.S. support for the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, the coup of General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to regain control of Egypt, and the bombing of Libya all have left North Africa in turmoil.
Iran has been empowered by the U.S.-brokered deal and will still become nuclear.
Russian president Vladimir Putin’s bombers blast civilians not far from Israel’s borders.
Democrats are considering Representative Keith Ellison as the next chairman of the Democratic National Committee despite his past ties to the Nation of Islam and his history of anti-Israel remarks.
Yet in all this mess, somehow Israel is in its best geostrategic position in decades. How?
The answer is a combination of unintended consequences, deft diplomacy, political upheavals in Europe and the United States, and Israel’s own democratic traditions.
Huge natural gas and oil finds off Israel’s Mediterranean coast and in the Golan Heights have radically changed Israel’s energy and financial positions. Israel no longer needs to import costly fossil fuels and may soon be an exporter of gas and oil to needy customers in Europe and the Middle East. (America recently became the world’s greatest producer of carbon energy and also no longer is dependent on Middle Eastern oil imports, resulting in less political influence by Arab nations.) Israel is creating its own version of Silicon Valley at Beersheba, which is now a global hub of cybersecurity research.
The Obama administration’s estrangement from Israel has had the odd effect of empowering Israel.
Rich Persian Gulf states see Obama as hostile both to Israel and to themselves, while he appeases the common enemy of majority-Shiite Iran.
After a “leading from behind” U.S withdrawal from the Middle East, many Arab nations now see Israel more as a powerful ally against Iran than as an old existential enemy. They also see Israel as a country that has likewise been snubbed by America.
Hmmm
“given the inevitable nuclear capabilities of Iran” As a long time signatory of the Nuclear Non Proliferation treaty, there has been zero evidence despite repeated international investigations that Iran has even a hint of a nuclear weapons program beyond the normal use of nuclear power. Nor has Iran attacked any of its neighbors for well over half a century.
On the other hand Israel refuses to sign the treaty. Israel has a huge nuclear, biological and chemical weapons program. Israel not only refuses international inspectors into the country for any reason, they routinely deny entry to various aid groups like the Red Cross if they intend to help anyone other than Jews. And Israel has attacked virtually every single one of its neighbors repeatedly.
The only reason Israel is sitting pretty right now is because it ran a false flag operation commonly called 9-11 tricking the American people into accepting a multi-trillion dollar war against any country in the region standing between israel and empire along with the continued billions of direct and billions more in indirect aid to Israel every year. On its own, Israel would have disappeared decades ago. There is nothing virtuous, let alone heroic about israel’s parasitic relationship with the American people.
Secretary Kerry nailed Israel perfectly by publicly stating the obvious: Israel cannot claim to be both Jewish and Democratic because of course Jewish is by definition exclusive and Democratic inclusive. No amount of posturing or hand wringing, no spouting of biblical verse, nor rewritten history can undermine the simple truth in that statement. Well done Mr. Kerry.
@DDearborn:
And here I thought the crazy twoofers were off the FA radar. Geez louise you guys are nuts.
@DDearborn: What a jack ass!
Ad hominem attacks are the hall mark of weak minds and weaker character.
The Dancing Israeli Mossad agents posing as movers who set up a video camera on top of their White Van with a mural painted on the side depicted a jet liner crashing into the twin towers BEFORE the first plane struck. When first approached by the police the driver responded: We are not the enemy. The Palestinians are your enemy. Later, 2 of these mossad agents appeared on israeli TV where they definitively stated that they had been sent to document the event.
Dozens of mossad agents posing as art students rented blocks of rooms on the exact floors struck by the planes in both towers in the weeks prior to 9-11. Among those later identified by Homeland security as mossad were several israeli explosives experts who were seen bringing pallets of boxes onto those floors.
The israeli corporation which was responsible for security at all 3 airports used by the alleged terrorists was owned by an israeli national with well known ties to the Israeli government and the mossad.
The evidence that directly and definitively links israel to 9-11 are so pervasive and in many cases so obvious as to preclude any other possibility. It just goes to show you that the power of the press often trumps reality. A US main stream media which controls over 90% of literally everything Americans hear see and read are all owned and/or controlled by zionist interests. The 4 largest search engines owned by zionist Jews. facebook and Youtube, zionist Jews. The man responsible for allowing the more than 100 israeli nationals arrested in and around NY City and Washington DC on 9-11, many of whom were in this country illegally and virtually all with ties to the mossad, Mike Chertoff, dual citizen israeli Jew. Not a single solitary Muslim was arrested in either NY City or Washington DC that day…..
I find it impossible to comprehend how anyone can still beleive that Israel was not responsible for 9-11. After all, this is not the first time that Israel has slaughtered Americans in a false flag attempt to drag us into war. The USS Liberty was israel’s first attempt. That failed when foreign ships showed up before they could finish machine gunning the US sailors in the water.
Entire books have been written about israel’s culpability and the massive propaganda campaign that Israel has been waging to stop the truth from going main stream. By mid 2016 that effort had failed completely. Thus we are witnessing israel’s latest tactic of trying to simply ban the entire alternative media from the internet. You are with your attempts at bullying me, consciously or not aiding in israel’s drive to shut down the truth about their crimes.
Just to touch on the closing comments about the oil and gas fields. Neither those off the coast nor in the Golan Heights have ever belongs to Israel. The massive offshore find legally belongs to the Palestinians. And the Golan Heights is part of Syria. Israel is trying to steal them along with Palestine. As an old infantry guy from back when the Army was all green, my money says even if they manage to get it now, they won’t be able to hang on to if for long.
@DDearborn: Show us the proof or shut up!
Hmmm
With the exception of the “art students” working in the towers for over month jus prior to the attacks, everything else was widely reported in the main stream media at one point or another in the after math of 9-11. The art Students did not come out for several years after 9-11, but it did come out. So unless you can definitively disprove my statements, which are widely supported all over the net, I suggest you are the one who should stop trying to bully me into silence. In other words, if you are so anxious to defend Israel feel free to do so. I will continue to do my best to defend and protect my country, America.
@Randy: Dammit, I made the mistake of feeding the 9/11 twoofers. Just ignore them. Most of the world already does. They are very weird bunch addicted to conspiracies…Illumaniti and the Jews!!! Illumaniti and the Jews!!!!.
I Was A Professional 9/11 Truther (And I Gave It Up)
If anyone wants to see how screwed up they are just go visit Screw Loose Change.
@Curt: I know, but I love these lefties show how far out of touch with reality they really are. I will move on to Ajay and Greg. They are still crying about the Clinton loss and making more predictions that ultimately will be wrong.
Hmmm
Not one single credible rebuttal in the bunch. Too bad, such an intriguing name floppingaces. Sadly, like some many things in life these days, lets of style and so little substance
Before I leave just for the record: I am an honorably discharged 11B. 3/3 and 1 year in the guard. I am a long time registered independent who has never been a registered Democrat. I voted for Mr. Trump as the lessor of 2 evils. I am a staunch defender of the Bill of Rights and States Rights as the founders intended. I don’t believe in, nor recognize the right of private Banks like the Federal Reserve. Nor will I bow down to foreign interests like Israel attempting to control US foreign policy. Or anyone who supports Israel over America. And I believe in truth, justice and the American way. And it is not the American way to treat the Palestinians like animals the way Israel is doing. Israel’s ongoing war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and Apartheid against the Palestinian people not only cannot be condoned, it must be stopped.
I will not darken you doors again. It simply isn’t worth your time or mine.
@DDearborn:
And we didnt land on the moon, there is a gigantic alien base under the denver airport, Bigfoot is often spotted with his pet chupacabra,There are gigantic alligators in NY toilets and Elvis is working at the
Burger King. Bat boy has impregnated DDearborn!