Obama: U.S. Needs To Be 'Honest' With Israel

<snip>

"President Obama, just days before traveling to the Middle East to deliver a key speech on U.S.-Muslim relations, on Monday reasserted U.S. support for Israel. But in an interview with NPR, the president also said he will continue to push for a Palestinian state and for a freeze on Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

"I don't think we have to change strong support for Israel," Obama said during an interview with NPR hosts Michele Norris of All Things Considered and Steve Inskeep of Morning Edition.

"We do have to retain a constant belief in the possibilities of negotiations that will lead to peace," Obama said. "And that's going to require, from my view, a two-state solution."

It will also require, he said, a freeze on Israeli settlements, including expansion to accommodate successive generations of settlers, and for Palestinians to make progress on security and end "the incitement that understandably makes Israelis so concerned."

The president also suggested that the United States' special relationship with Israel requires some tough love. "Part of being a good friend is being honest," Obama said. "And I think there have been times where we are not as honest as we should be about the fact that the current direction, the current trajectory, in the region is profoundly negative, not only for Israeli interests but also U.S. interests. And that's part of a new dialogue that I'd like to see encouraged in the region."

more

Both side are chock full of lunatics.

Finally, someone is telling the truth.

Maybe he may be able to accomplish something in that region during his 8 years (;)) since he is willing to speak the truth.

It's about time somebody told Israel where the bear shit in the buckwheat.

Now that we're on this honesty kick why not honestly deal with the abuses, corruption, and crimes of the past 8 years and see that the perps are punished, and then ensure that it cannot happen again?

The Israelis are probing various other political actors within the US to see if there is any wiggle room in the administration's anti-settlement stance -- a tactic that has worked in the past. For example, they have often found allies in Congress willing to go to bat for them.

This time, they are finding a brick wall. All their allies in Congress are firmly behind the administration's policy. They are learning there is no wiggle room; the administration and Democrats in Congress are unanimous.

The administration launched a strategy to keep Congress in line.

And who planned and executed the strategy? According to Haaretz, Rahm Emanual!

I was very disappointed by his appointment because I thought it meant no change in I/P policy, but it looks like once again, Obama was playing chess.

Rahm is to Israel, as Nixon was to China -- the one person with enough cred to completely change the game.

In this case "rhetoric" is not a pejorative term. He is saying the right things and which is exactly what needs to be done right now.

Unfortunately there is no sign at all that the rhetoric will have any impact on the Israeli government. Which unfortunately means that the time is going to come when that rhetoric will have to be backed up with action, or it is meaningless. I'm not saying its meaningless now. We're at step one.

Step two however will take much more political courage, and that will be to start pulling Israeli funding and making aid conditional on a two-state solution and, more broadly, adhering to human rights and international law.

...not that we're much of an example on international law but... :(