February 19, 2013

Obama at Ramallah

By Shoshana Bryen
President Obama's plans in the Middle East include three and a half hours in Ramallah to meet with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. The president's hope is to find a mechanism for advancing Israeli-Palestinian "peace." The appearance of the President of the United States in "Palestine" is calculated to provide Abbas with a tangible benefit in hopes of moderating/modifying his behavior vis a vis Israel and strengthen him vis a vis Hamas. If President Obama succeeds, however, the result will be to strengthen a dictator by betraying his people on behalf of their enemy, Israel. It won't be the first time the United States has tried to entice -- OK, bribe -- dictatorial governments into doing what we want. Bribery didn't work in Iraq or in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Libya, or Tunisia. It hasn't moved Iran or North Korea, and it didn't keep U.S.-armed and trained Malian troops from overthrowing their elected civilian leadership. In none of those cases was Israel a factor. But Ramallah will be...(Read Full Article)