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OBAMA’S PLANS AND
WHAT NETANYAHU'S SHOULD DO
By
Caroline Glick –
www.jpost.com
May 21/09. Prime
Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's visit with US President Barack Obama at the White
House on Monday was a baptism of fire for the new premier. What emerged from the
meeting is that Obama's priorities regarding Iran, Israel and the Arab world are
diametrically opposed to Israel's priorities.
During his ad hoc
press conference with Netanyahu, Obama made clear that he will not lift a finger
to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. And acting as Obama's surrogate,
for the past two weeks CIA Director Leon Panetta has made clear that Obama
expects Israel to also sit on its thumbs as Iran develops the means to destroy
it.
On the face of it,
Obama's obsessive push for a Palestinian state makes little sense. The
Palestinians are hopelessly divided. It is not simply that Hamas rules the Gaza
Strip and Fatah controls Judea and Samaria. Fatah itself is riven by division.
Palestinian
Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas's appointment of the new PA government under
Salaam Fayad was overwhelmingly rejected by Fatah leaders. Quite simply, there
is no coherent Palestinian leadership that is either willing or capable of
reaching an accord with Israel.
Obama's intention
to unveil his Middle East peace plan in the course of his speech to the Muslim
world in Cairo on June 4, like his decision to opt out of visiting Israel in
favor of visiting a Nazi death camp, make it clear that he does not perceive
Israel as a vital ally, or even as a partner in the peace process he wishes to
initiate. Israeli officials were not consulted about his plan. Then, too, from
the emerging contours of his plan, it is clear that he will be offering
something that no Israeli government can accept.
According to media
reports, Obama's plan will require Israel to withdraw its citizens and its
military to the indefensible 1949 armistice lines. It will provide for the free
immigration of millions of Israel-hating Arabs to the Palestinian state. And it
seeks to represent all of this as in accord with Israel's interests by claiming
that after Israel renders itself indefensible, all 57 members of the
Organization of the Islamic Conference (including Iran) will "normalize" their
relations with Israel. In short, Obama is using his peace plan to castigate the
Netanyahu government as the chief destabilizing force in the region.
During his meeting
with Obama, Netanyahu succeeded in evading the policy traps Obama set for him.
Netanyahu reserved Israel's right to act independently against Iran and he
conceded nothing substantive on the Palestinian issue.
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