In case any American Jews were doubtful that a leaf has been turned in US-Israeli relations, the surprise victory by Arab state in the UN General Assembly that recommends Israel join the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and open its nuke sites to inspection should cause the rest of the scales to fall from their eyes.
In short, this is a 180 degree flip in policy on the part of the US who apparently did nothing to stop the vote. The last time it was tried in 1991, the measure was soundly defeated.
But a new team is in charge in Washington - a team that apparently believes that lumping an ally with our enemies is perfectly alright.
Reuters Louis Charbonneau has the story:
Speaking on the second day of a two-week meeting of the 189 signatories of the pact, Assistant Secretary of State Rose Gottemoeller also defended a U.S.-India civilian nuclear deal, which developing nations have complained rewards New Delhi for staying outside the NPT.
"Universal adherence to the NPT itself, including by India, Israel, Pakistan and North Korea ... remains a fundamental objective of the United States," Gottemoeller told the meeting, which hopes to agree on an agenda and plan to overhaul the treaty at a review conference next year.
Speaking to reporters later, she declined to say whether Washington would take any new steps to press Israel to join the treaty and give up any nuclear weapons it has. Israel neither confirms nor denies whether it has what arms control experts assume to be a sizable atomic arsenal.
The administration of President Barack Obama was encouraging all holdouts to join the treaty, she said.
Nuclear-armed India and Pakistan have never signed the treaty. North Korea withdrew from it in 2003 and tested a nuclear device in 2006.
At the NPT meeting, developing countries have criticized the endorsement of the U.S.-India nuclear agreement by the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group, an informal club of the world's top producers of nuclear-related technology.
The group agreed in September to lift a ban on nuclear trade with India, imposed after New Delhi's first nuclear test in 1974.
Ed Lasky adds:
Where was America? Was Susan Rice using her influence to derail the resolution? Why was this resolution brought up now when it had not been brought up in the last 18 years-during administrations of George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush? Do anti-Israel officials at the UN and in the world feel more empowered to pressure Israel? Do they feel they have a pass from the Oval Office?
I don't see how you could come to any other conclusion than this administration is determined to treat Israel the same way we would treat Syria, Iran, or any other enemy of America.
Israel has lost it's most valued ally if this is true. And it may be only a matter of time before some nation or nations in the Middle East seek to take advantage of that.
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