Obama ME Scorecard - so far.

So far not too bad. 

- He did not free Pollard.

- He didn't offer to give Israel extra free money or guns.

- He and Natanyahu managed to conceal their true feelings about each other.

- BHO's speech to the "youth group" was very skilled and the reaction both positive and negative was useful.

- He apparently did not accept Israeli instruction on Iran and Syria.

- His speeches in Israel were simple traditional drivel about friendship, eternal friendship and more eternal friendship.

- His visit to Abbas was much the same thing.

One thing about the press chatter around this trip that concerns me is the renewed talk of Jordan's instability, deep problems, etc.  I don't see it.  Jordan has always been a delicately balanced place.  Israelis for many decades "beat the drum" for the idea that the Hashemite monarchy would soon disappear.  They stopped that after Jordan made peace with them.  Have their allies in the press now started this again?  Abdullah is a very Western, modern, man who wants to bring the country to a consititutional monarchy that would be a true parliamentary democracy.  He wants to do that without surrendering the country to the Islamists.  What part of that does the media not like?  pl

 

http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/21/politics/obama-mideast-visit/?hpt=wo_c1

Comments

[turcopolier]

Charles I

"calm down?" Bullshit. How f-----g dare you. pl

[Charles I]

You seem completely misapprehend my position because I noted a few complexities and opined that its no surprise the usual talking heads are spinning their spin on this subject many including I are ignorant of from this article.

Go nutsa then

[Charles I]

omg change "us outsiders" to "this outsider" if you somehow think was referencing you with the ignorant then it is indeed backward day!

[turcopolier]

Charles I

"Go nutsa then." This is not some kind of stupid game. Goodbye. pl

[Babak Makkinejad]

All:

Remarks by President Obama and His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan in Joint Press Conference

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/03/22/remarks-president-obama-and-his-majesty-king-abdullah-ii-jordan-joint-pr

Jon Karl.

Q Thank you, Mr. President, King Abdullah.

Mr. President, you have said repeatedly on this trip and before that all options are on the table to stop Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, including military action. Yesterday, the Supreme Leader of Iran came out and said that if any action is taken against his country, he will raze the cities in Israel of Tel Aviv and Haifa to the ground. So my question to you is are you prepared to deal with the retaliation, the fallout that would come after a military strike against Iran's nuclear facilities?

And to King Abdullah, if I can ask what you think would happen here -- what would be the aftermath of a military strike, whether taken by the United States or by Israel against Iran? What is a bigger threat to stability in this region -- Iran with nuclear weapons, or another war in this region?

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, first of all, Jon, I'm not going to engage in a whole bunch of hypotheticals. Because what I've said from the moment I came into office was that the best resolution of this situation is through diplomacy, and I continue to believe that.

We have organized the international community around a sanctions regime that is having an impact on Iran -- not because we forced other countries to do it; because they recognize that if you trigger a nuclear arms race in this region, as volatile as it is, if you have the prospect of nuclear weapons getting into the hands of terrorists and extremists, that it's not just Israel that's threatened, it's a whole range of people that could be threatened.

We're talking right now about the possibility of Syria using chemical weapons. What would be the conversation if Syria possessed nuclear weapons?

So this is not just a problem for Israel. It's not just a problem for the United States. It's a regional and worldwide problem. And, by the way, we have been consistent in saying that nonproliferation is a problem around the globe, not just with respect to Iran. The fact of the matter is, is that Iran has not been able to establish credibly with the international community that, in fact, it is simply pursuing peaceful nuclear power. There's a reason why it's subject to all these resolutions and violations identified by the United Nations. That's not something we made up.

There are a lot of other countries who have the technical capacity, but for some reason, they are able to get right with the international community. Iran has not been able to do so.

Now, if in fact what the Supreme Leader has said is the case, which is that developing a nuclear weapon would be un-Islamic and that Iran has no interest in developing nuclear weapons, then there should be a practical, verifiable way to assure the international community that it’s not doing so. And this problem will be solved -- to the benefit of the region and to the benefit of the Iranian people.

The Iranian people are celebrating Nowruz, their most important holiday. And every year I deliver a Nowruz message. And I remind the people of Iran that they are a great civilization; they have an extraordinary history; they have unbelievable talent -- they should be fully integrated then to the international community, where they can thrive and build businesses and expand commerce. And there should be exchanges and travel and interactions with the Iranian people and everyone else, including the United States. That should be the vision -- not threats to raze Israeli cities to the ground.

Part of the frustration that I think we all feel sometimes is that it seems as if people spend all their time organizing around how they can gain advantage over other people, or inflict violence on other people, or isolate other people, instead of trying to figure out how do we solve problems. This is a solvable problem -- if, in fact, Iran is not pursuing a nuclear weapon.

And so we’re going to continue to apply the pressure that we have in a nonmilitary way to try to resolve the problem. We will continue to try to pursue diplomatic solutions to the situation.
But, yes, I have said as President of the United States that I will maintain every option that’s available to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon because I think the consequences for the region and for the world would be extraordinarily dangerous.

My hope and expectation is, is that, among a menu of options, the option that involves negotiations, discussions, compromise, and resolution of the problem is the one that’s exercised. But as President of the United States, I would never take any option off the table.

HIS MAJESTY KING ABDULLAH: There’s very little that I would like to add to what the President said. I think, looking from the Jordanian point of view and the challenges that Jordan faces as we look around the region, the challenges of what the Israelis and the Palestinians that we faced in 2012, the instability as you’re seeing in Syria, we have the concerns as what’s happening in Iraq -- any military action at the moment, whether Israeli or Iranian, to me at this stage is Pandora’s box, because nobody can guarantee what the outcome will be.

So hopefully there is another way of resolving this problem. At a time with so much instability in the Middle East, we just don’t need another thing on our shoulders.

[Will Reks]

Why is this surprising to you? Obama has continued most if not all of the policies of his predecessor.

[turcopolier]

will reks

It is not surprising but I refuse to despair. pl

[William R. Cumming]

So is US foreign now as in some past times Bipartisan?

[William R. Cumming]

Is it accurate to state that Jordan is the preferred destination for all Syrian and Iraqi refugees? Numbers?
And Jordan's ethnic mix?

[turcopolier]

WRC

Virtaly all jordanians are Arabs whether they are sunni muslims or christians. the number of christians used to be about 10% but is miuch lower now.

Jordan;s ethnic mix? the Zionists have long sought to portray Jordan as inhabited by palestinians, in their view about 80% and beduins, the rest.

In fact there have always been three types, Palestinians settled there since 1948-9. they are all Jordanian citizens. These are something like 50% The second are east bank Jordanian townsmen, maybe 30%. They do not consider themselves Palestinians and speak a different type of Arabic. third - tribal beduins either still tent dwell ing or in villages especialy in the south. palestinian girls are atractive and there are no many poeple of mixed blood.

the Zionsts insist on their version of demographics because they have long wished to call Jordan - Palestine. They still want that. if that view prevails they can de-stabilize Jordan and make it the other country in a peace settlement. pl

[William R. Cumming]

Thanks PL again!

And Jose what is BHSO? I understand BHO!

I left a word out of earlier comment and should have read is US foreign policy now considered Bipartisan?

[elkern]

Col Lang -

I might give Obama a B rather than a C, mostly based on the "speech to the young people". Israel has messed with US politics for generations; Obama is returning the favor, cashing in on his residual (international) popularity & relative youth.

It seemed pretty dismal until then, with Obama seeming to do everything Bibi's way, but now that's looking more like skilled diplomacy (saying what the other guy wants to hear & smiling while cutting him off at the knees).

Israel has an amazing set of political forces in play - Congress; both major political Parties; the MSM (the only thing Fox & NPR agree on is...); a bureaucracy stacked with leftover partisans from previous administrations; and probably moles in all (?) of our Intelligence branches as well as the Pentagon & State. I think Obama is doing a pretty good job of restisting these forces.

Do you agree with estmate of the infestation of moles?

[turcopolier]

elkern

IMO the media is altogether an array of cheerleaders for whomever is in power or who they think might be in power. The MSM is a weathervane for whatever wind is seen to be blowing. it prefers winds that blow from the left, gay marriage, guns. the influence of AIPAC is enormous. AIPAC uses advertiser power to exclude many from the public square. The WH and other federal agancies simply threaten denail of access to get their way. the onl yreal exception to this dismal scene is is Chris Hayes, who, although a leftist, has thus far displayed a remarkable integrity. The heads of all the agencies and departments are politically appointed from among the cheerleaders. No more need be said of that. the process of "burrowing" partisan moles into the senior civil service has gone on for many generations. When these are combined in effect with the "army" of careerist hacks among the SESes your picture is complete. pl

[Stephanie]

Obama gave Netanyahu a pass on new settlements, so Bibi's still walking very well for someone who just got cut off at the knees. For that I'm sure Bibi will let Obama "reach out directly to the people" as much as he wants. Then Obama gets the apology to Turkey so his trip ends on a high note. Everybody's happy.....

[Trent]

Pat, what do you think of the notion that Bibi's #1 goal is settlement, road and wall expansion? Pollard and a Jerusalem embassy would be nice, but what they're really after from the US is cover while they choke off the Palestinian cities and towns...

[turcopolier]

All

It appears that BHO gave away the farm to bibi in order to get him to apologize to the Turks, something they needed to do anyway. more on this later today. pl

[Fred]

Why would he do that? Its not like he's running for reelection and needs the Jewish American vote.

[William R. Cumming]

I would argue that however fretful Israeli-Turkish links are a driver in US MENA policy! Perhaps not!

Professor Paul Kennedy's analysis on key 21st Century countries counted Turkey heavily as a key 21st century nation-state and to me his arguments remain convincing.

[The beaver]

That's what has been troubling me since that news came up.
What did he promise Bibi because for the past 3 yrs ,Bibi has refused to apologise and to compensate the families of the dead. We have to remember that a dual national- Turkish American was amongst the dead and the US, especially Sec of State said "boo" when it was mentioned in the news.
Scuttlebutt: The US is forking for the monetary compensation to the 9 families.

Will the US also give away the four warships required to protect the off-shore gas rigs as per this:
http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/139069/yuri-m-zhukov/trouble-in-the-eastern-mediterranean-sea?page=show
OR money for the next 8 Iron Dome batteries ?

Why has Ocalan asked for peace as far as the Turkish Kurds are concerned whilst the Syrian Kurds are becoming a third faction in what is happening in Syria? NATO was hoping to have them on its side BUT they are looking out for themselves ?
In the meantime, the FSA has rejected Gassan Hitto as P.M a.i. for the Syrian National Opposition. He is Syrian Kurd with dual US citizenship and moved to Turkey last yr.

[YT]

Charles I,

... 4 min. apart between your comment & mine.

「天下智謀之士所見略同耳。」

They say great minds...

[William R. Cumming]

PL! Am I correct that except for NATO member Turkey the US has no formal defense treaty with any part of MENA?

[Fred]

The author is a graduate student who's busy building his cv. You should read the summary of his dissertation on the Harvard website. No wonder our foreign policy is so screwed up.