UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - President Barack Obama pressed Israel and the Palestinians on Wednesday to relaunch peace talks as he made a last-ditch attempt to avert a U.N. crisis over Palestinian statehood and pull his Middle East policy back from the brink of diplomatic disaster.
Addressing world leaders at the opening of a U.N. General Assembly session, Obama -- whose earlier peace initiatives accomplished little -- put the onus on the two sides to break a yearlong impasse and get back to the negotiating table.
SO, does this mean he's throwing in the towel and pushing Israel and Palestine under that ever-crowding bottom of his proverbial bus so his Middle East policy emerges untainted by failure? Is he washing his hands of the deal "putting the onus on the two sides" because whatever his policy was didn't work, or do you think that's the best way to handle it?
Did you hear Ehud Barak on Piers Morgan last night say that Obama had done more for peace in Israel than any other president? Could you enumerate what Obama's done to deserve that glowing appraisal?
thanks for any information.
thanks for any information.
z
22 comments:
As Saudi Arabia and others have said they will chart a new course if we block attempts for Palestinian Statehood at the UN, these are indeed very perilous times for us.
Somehow I think I am one of the few who sees no real solution the the question of Middle East peace without significant humility and retreat from both sides of this issue.
As for your question Z, all I can say is that there are many who claim that Israel, backed by AIPAC here in the US, will never make any kind of deal.
They believe President Obama has worked hard on this to not much avail because of that lack of desire to really get a lasting peace on mutually beneficial terms.
When both sides say there are non negotiable, and the other side those stances must be negotiated, how does any President move forward?
Even the Egyptian agreement took a couple of leaders who were willing to die to make peace. DO we have those types of leaders in place now?
It does not look like it...
Here's an interesting take on the issue...
http://williampfaff.com/
I didn't see Barak on Piers Morgan, but at the same time, I can't enumerate what Obama has done to help Israel's side.
Hmmmm.... still thinking.
Maybe Piers should ask Betanyahu...
just by the by:
Republicans' affair with Obama reminds me of this very famous haiku by Basho:
an ancient pond/
a frog jumps in/
the splash of water
;)
Obama knows damn well that Israel isn't going to give in to the psuedo-stinians, and his calling for peace from both sides is laughable. For that to happen, the psuedo-stinians would actually have to want peace. They don't of course, they only want to kill Jews.
The Islamists are never going to stop attacking the Jewish people, and they have every right to defend themselves.
Could you enumerate what Obama's done to deserve that glowing appraisal?
---------
He's allowed Likud to do anything, bomb anyone and build as many settlements as it desires.
Meanwhile he'll spout a little kabuki no and again while he makes it clear that the U.N. resolution will be vetoed.
He has backed the Egyptian military and will pay whatever ransom they demand to keep the present relationship with Israel.
Guy's a total stooge for Israel but for some reason the right doesn't understand this.
As Saudi Arabia and others have said they will chart a new course if we block attempts for Palestinian Statehood at the UN, these are indeed very perilous times for us.
-------
Sounds like possibly difficult times for Israel but what does that have to do with our interests?
I will partially agree with Dave Miller and say "there is no real solution," and stop there.
Our interest, Ducky, is that Israel is an historic ally surrounded by enemies.
What a cowardly question.
I'll go out on a limb and say Israel should recognize the Palestinians as a "state," and then the first rocket, mortar, suicide bomber, etc. out of them should be considered an act of war which will receive a full military conquering of them and less land for the Palestinians to negotiate peace from.
And the American response to Israel should be "do you have enough bullets or would you like more?"
I don't know how Obama is proven to be a friend to Israel, when he did whatever he could to rid Egypt of Mubarak who had a peace treaty with Israel. That peace deal is dead and gone.
Most likely The Muslim Brotherhood will retain power in Egypt. Furthermore, there have been attacks on Israel from Egypt, since the so-called "Arab Spring".
Obama kept silent when the Iranian uprising took place, assuring a government which is in the process of achieving nuclear weapons in the not too distant future.
Ahmadinejad has said Iran will wipe Israel off the map. This is a leader, and government who is not an ally, and threatens our only loyal ally in the ME.
Having said all this, I think Ehud Barak, had little choice but to say what he did.
He's dealing with a President who pays back those who criticise and embarrass him.
There was nothing to be gained by attacking him publicly. This was simply diplomacy IMO. What else could Ehud Barak say?
IMO, Obama's pro Israel remarks at the UN were political, and an effort to retain the Jewish vote here in America.
Brooke said, Obama knows damn well that Israel isn't going to give in to the psuedo-stinians, and his calling for peace from both sides is laughable.
I say: Exactly!
All my life, I've been hearing about peace in the Middle East. Quite elusive -- to say the least.
Dave, Israel has given up and given up...land, people..you name it. One tiny country and that's just too much for the Arabs in the area to allow, huh?
SO, you honestly feel you're the only one who sees that humility and retreat might be necessary?
What do you think of the fact that it's Israel who keeps getting the scab picked? How the heck much must Israel retreat from lands they were given or fought for?
I finally understood what a terribly short stick Israel gets; I was watching CNN International in PAris one day, probably in 1999, hearing how the Palestinians had bombed a bus in Haifa, many dead (children, grandfathers, pregnant women..all innocents)...
Israel retaliated;
Israel's bombing got five minutes of CNN air time...their retaliation to Palestinians got twenty minutes. I remember slamming my hands on the chair arms and saying, out loud, 'that's IT!'. it was THE most one-sided, condemnatory, unfair reporting I'd ever seen; and, trust me, I was pro Palestine then. I bought ALL the leftwing propaganda,,
Never again.
Since then, I've watched and listened carefully. I haven't seen Obama work nearly as hard as other presidents, but...okay, if that's what the media's saying, I guess we have to buy it.
Ehud Barak was quite complimentary to Obama, wasn't he....I suppose the amount of money we give Israel plays a part in that, if I have to be cynical...not being QUITE as understanding of humility as YOU are (smile!) :-)
Read Brooke's response...excellent.
CUBE: remember the night Obama had to go eat with his family upstairs and left Netanyahu waiting? I"m hoping that was bad reporting and not the truth.
As for Obama and Israel; I can't think of anything, either.
nicrap........i like that.
i must admit
that fits the bill
of ducks in water
:-)
BY THE WAY: One of the bleeding heart leftys' (jews and others) reasons for wanting to aid Palestine so badly is that "THEY'RE SO POOR and ARE TREATED SO BADLY"
Why don't we tell Palestinians to go to Saudi Arabia, that fat cat, stinking rich country that could BUY Israel for Palestine, let them get what they want and build a society in which their children aren't encouraged to watch cartoons training how to kill Jews (ever seen a cartoon in Israel telling kids how to kill PA's? Didn't think so), in which their children will have a future, in which they can build on the LAND THEY HAVE? Maybe they'll STOP BOTHERING ISRAEL, which has only EVER wanted peace.
But, it's probably not a good idea, according to the Left; there must be an agenda the Left has for not wanting to keep Israel safe? YATHINK?
SF: you're so right.
Pris, you said exactly what I just said ; I believe Barak had to be nice on CNN, you're right. Great comment, thanks
Beamish; bravo!!!!
AOW: Peace in the Middle East=Palestinian people not being taught to hate Jews. THat's a start, eh?
Lol, You guys are sooo transparent. This is a clear win and a feather in Obama's cap. It will lead to a more stabilize middle east.
Glad you're still taking your cues from Fox News who'd rather have a dumbfk cowboy shaking his fist at the rest of the world and inviting more terrorist attacks.
Bd, tell us; What's the feather in Obama's cap? What's going to lead to stabilization?
Hint: Obama's saying he doesn't want a Palestinine State (LOL!)
We aren't appeasers, Bd...go blog where people are.
And please watch FOX sometimes! You'll actually get another point of view....try
Glad you're still taking your cues from Fox News who'd rather have a dumbfk cowboy shaking his fist at the rest of the world and inviting more terrorist attacks.
"Inviting" more terrorist attacks FROM WHO?
There have been significantly less terrorist attacks on Americans since we started bombing the crap out of people.
Prove me wrong.
"There have been significantly less terrorist attacks on Americans since we started bombing the crap out of people."
Amazing isn't it? What with the asswipe ROE's in place? If Dresden and Berlin were good enough for "civilized" people....than it out to be applied 10 fold for cave dwellers that can't even read the damn queeran.
@Mrs. Z
As, perhaps, Wodehouse would say in his inimitable style:
Ducks will be ducks/and frogs will be frogs/and ducks are not frogs ;)
p.s. The "Wode/house" above contained two links, one to a story by him titled, "Cats will be cats", the other to another story by him titled, "The Story of Webster."
:)
"Why don't we tell Palestinians to go to Saudi Arabia,..."
Because the Sauidi's don't want them, Syria doesn't want them, Jordon doesn't want them, no one in the middle east wants a bunch of thieves, hoodlums, useless people in their country. It has been that way since before 1948 and won't change anytime soon.
They are a bastard people and Palestine is a freek occurrence of history. In AD 135, after putting down a revolt, the second major Jewish revolt against Rome, the Emperor Hadrian (actually his wife) wanted to blot out the name of the Roman “Provincia Judaea” and so renamed it “Provincia Syria Palaestina”, the Latin version of the Greek name and the first use of the name as an administrative unit. The name “Provincia Syria Palaestina” was later shortened to Palaestina, from which the modern, anglicized “Palestine” is derived. So if there is no real Palestine other than a Jewish province then it is safe to say,there are no actual Palestinian people Those that made up what could be called Palestinian's(pre- Greek or Roman days) were Philistines (sea-going people from Asia Minor who settled on the Mediterranean to establish trading post and ports. The are NOT ARAB but a convoluted bunch who interbred with the Philistines.
In the history of the world, Palestine has never existed as a nation. The region known as Palestine was ruled alternately by Rome, by Islamic and Christian crusaders, by the Ottoman Empire and, briefly, by the British after World War I. The British agreed to restore at least part of the land to the Jewish people as their ancestral homeland. It was never ruled by Arabs as a separate nation.
The Arabs know this, the Israeli's know this, most of the educated world knows this so why all this incessant BS about a free state of Palestine when there is and never has been any such country or people?
It ain't gonna happen in my life time or the lifetime of my grandchildren nor their children's children's children.
exactly my point, Ticker; how many PA's did Jordan murder? And Jordan now has a queen from the area of Palestinian occupation.
But, my bigger point is that if they did get help from Saudi Arabia, they could be in the shape to stop murdering Jews......Actually, I've seen reports that even without Saudis, they do better financially than we're led to believe in this
country.
They seem too unintelligent to realize that people notice they're going for land that was lost in hard fought wars and that probably wasn't theirs in the first place, and that the Arabs COULD help them but then the Arabs wouldn't have their dupes, the PAs, around to kill Jews...simple
The Palestinians wanted the farms that the Israeli's had worked so hard to make productive and the Israeli's were forced to give up a large number of these very productive farms. Within a year the farms were going to pot. Within five years the farms were nothing more than dried up patches of weeds, just as they had been before the Israeli's toiled and sweated to bring them into a productive state.
The Palestinian's are the ghetto dwellers of the Middle East. They feel they are ENTITLED to Israel's land and they don't believe they should have to work to maintain the farms, they believe that the Israeli government should keep on giving until there is no more to give.
Do you wonder why no one in the ME want's them?
Actually the Democrats might want them since they sound like their voter base, gimme, gimme.
Z said: Hint: Obama's saying he doesn't want a Palestinine State (LOL!)"
Fact: He said just the opposite of this in his speech. Fox News much?
beamish said:"There have been significantly less terrorist attacks on Americans since we started bombing the crap out of people. Prove me wrong."
No, you prove ME wrong. So that's your answer? Bomb the crap out of 'people?' Real smart.
Yea Bd and anyother pacifist sob's here is a bit that describes you well:
War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things.
The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse.
The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself. ~John Stewart Mill
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