Obama on Libya vs. Obama on Israel

March 13, 2012 By 31 Comments

First, after meeting with Obama for the better part of last Monday, Netanyahu that night opened his speech to AIPAC with the following: “Thank you.… I want to thank you for that wonderful reception. This applause could be heard as far away as Jerusalem—the eternal and united capital of Israel [emphasis added].” The eternal capital of Israel, indeed—also a clear message to Obama. In effect, Netanyahu told the president: If you will not support Israel’s legitimate positions regarding Iran, then Israel, in turn, will not even consider your views regarding the “peace process” (conventional wisdom maintaining that Israel should cede East Jerusalem to the Palestinians as part of any deal).

Second, the day after his meeting with Obama, Netanyahu had this to say to US congressional leaders: There are historical precedents in which Israel acted according to its own interests, despite American opposition. Netanyahu noted that notwithstanding Washington’s opposition David Ben-Gurion declared independence in 1948; Levi Eshkol launched a preemptive attack against Egypt in 1967; and Menachem Begin decided to bomb the Iraqi nuclear reactor in 1981. Coupled with Netanyahu’s stated commitment that Israel will always remain “master of its fate” in dealing with Tehran, and the writing is on the wall: the Jewish state will go it alone if necessary.

Obama, for his part, also weighed in, holding a “last-minute” press conference—his first in months—which immediately devolved into an attack on the “loose talk of war” emanating from leading Republican presidential candidates (who, by the way, addressed AIPAC earlier that day—see the connection?). Obama cautioned against “beating the drums of war,” and warned of “consequences for Israel if [military] action [against Iran] is taken prematurely.” Concurrently, World Powers, including the US, accepted Tehran’s offer to resume negotiations over its nuclear program without preconditions. The news no doubt reached Netanyahu on Capitol Hill.

Taken together, it appears Israel is on its own should Netanyahu decide to act in the near future. Alternatively, the Jewish state can trust that Obama “has Israel’s back” and that he will put an end to Iran’s nuclear program when Israel no longer has the capability to do so. Will Netanyahu accept Obama at his word? Highly unlikely. What that means is that the time has come for Israel’s true allies to rally behind her. She will need it.

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About

Charles Bybelezer is a Breaking News Editor at The Jerusalem Post.

  • maturin20

    The disparity in policy between Libya and Iran that you notice might be due to Iran's much greater importance, size, wealth and strategic position. Assuming that the President is simply biased against Israel's defense needs seems premature. I'm sure the Israeli government will do as they will.

    • stern

      Then explain the President's inaction when the Iranian people tried to stand up against their leaders – and compare that to his pushing out of Mubarak, to allow Islamist forces to gain control in Egypt. Seems that Obama only acts against his allies.

      • maturin20

        How does this affect you in Canada?

        • stern

          You did not reply to my questions. However, I will reply to yours.

          What happens in the Middle East has a profound effect on what could happen here. The more we allow the forces of darkness and repression to take hold, the easier we make it for those same forces to spread to here.

          As the only democracy in the Middle East, the only country where people of all religions can practice their faith, free from any restrictions, where women have equal rights, where anyone, of any race or creed, can vote, stand for elections, serve on the Supreme Court and live anywhere they want, Israel shares core values with Canada. I will defend those values, both here and in Israel.

          Like Canada, Israel provides refugee for those who have lost everything in the country of their birth (I"m not just talking about Jews; tens of thousands of Somali and Sudanese refugees have found safe haven in Israel). Just one more similarity between the two countries that mean so much to me.

          Now it's your turn.

          • maturin20

            In answer to your question, perhaps Larry Silverstein just hasn't bought the right building yet.

          • stern

            Interesting answer. Unable to provide a real answer, the despicable bigot displays blatant anti-Semitism.

            ONce again, I have to comment that no, you will not "mature in 20". At this rate, you will never mature.

          • maturin20

            It's a real answer, you are just incapable of making small leaps in logic.

          • stern

            Au contraire, I do believe your small-brained logic was perfectly clear.

          • maturin20

            It was. Iran is no threat to the US. It is a honeypot of natural resources. We are not ready, apparently, to attack them yet, and China and Russia may retaliate if we do. However, if we really did want a war with them as badly as Israel does, and lacking an Iranian provocation, we would have to manufacture one. They don't sit on 1/4 the world's oil supply though, as Saddam did.

          • Ben

            Israel will only allow orthodox Jews to be married. They recognize certificates from elsewhere, but if your an Israeli Christian you must get married elsewhere. Israel utd nothing like the United States, it is closer to a theocracy.

            And Obama has supported Israel more than any of these asses will acknowledge.

  • David M

    Imagine for a moment that Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khameini, at a Martyrs Day rally in Tehran, repeated his longstanding call for both Kenya and Indonesia to be wiped off the map. Barack Hussein would not hesitate a moment to go to war. He is a patriot and a loyal citizen of Kenya and Indonesia. I laugh loud whenever this spoiled child/boy is called president.

  • WilliamJamesWard

    There is no peace process outside of reducing the size of Israel piece by piece. France and Britain are
    not in need of protection from Iran as Islam is already taking over those Nations from within and Obama
    would do nothing to stop that process. Israel needs protection from Obamas leading from behind with
    treachery as he has their back with a blade in his hand and it is a scimitar. Iran has declared war
    and is in active support through surrogates on violent attacks on the Israeli homeland. The idea of
    separating Jerusalem is out of the question, it is the Capitol of Israel and Historically the eternal
    City of God and all who have suggested this have come to grief, founded by Jews it is the heart
    of Israel……………………………………………………………………………………William

  • http://jc.does-it.net Geneww

    Charles Bybelezer hit the nail on the head with his "what did Moammar Qaddafi do to be disposed" other than threaten the One World Leaders with cultivating the Fertile Cresent (look-up Libya's Made MadeRriver) to supply Europe and North Africa with food to add to Libya's trade balance from oil. Very hard to run a world when you have a rogue maverick openly ignoring and running against you. So get rid of him! Hmmm, is the UN or anyone else going to finish that irrigation project to feed the hungry of the world?
    In these conflicts, only low level [expendable people] and stable governments die while the world leaders and financiers gain more control.

  • ObamaYoMoma

    It's undeniable that the duplicitous Obama administration has betrayed what has been the US's most loyal, stanchest, and valuable ally for decades at its greatest time of need. Any and all Jews that vote for Obama are self-hating Jews. We will soon find out how many pathetic self-hating Jews reside in America.

    • maturin20

      We could probably get good numbers already from Woody Allen's ticket sales.

  • David R

    Israel needs no allies in the present situation, much less hypocritical ones in it's back. While Obama is trying to play his futile cards of diplomacy and losing sleep over the next election and the US economy, he's fast asleep when not realizing that the US economy is a Jewish one and that the Islamic rot is already spread thick in his own country as elsewhere, rapidly growing its tentacles of destruction and control. Israel is only number one on their list, then the rest will follow until absolute Islamic control is established.
    Israel must defend itself now and not wait for any lily-livered misguided leaders to give the ok. It's very survival is dependent on eliminating these tentacles of destruction who have for many years now declared war on the Jewish State.
    God bless the Jewish people and it's Israeli president and leadership. This nation has an inner magnetism with their persecuted past of victories and defeats, but especially a very private relationship with the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, who will deliver them soon in a magnificent and terrifying manner.
    "The Lord of Glory has sent Me (Messiah) against the nations that oppress you, for he who harms you sticks a finger in God's eye!" (Zacharia 2:8)
    "But when you come to destroy the land of Israel, My fury will rise! For in My jealousy and blazing wrath. I promise a mighty shaking in the land of Israel on that day, and all will shake in terror at My presence." (Ezechiel 38:18)
    Israel will soon live in true peace with absolutely no enemies around to disturb and nag it. Its enemies, including Obama and his likes, will be put to shame for having underestimated the true and absolute power of Israel…its divine Defender.

    • stern

      While I appreciate your post and your sentiments, one phrase bothers me:
      "the US economy is a Jewish one"

      Apart from being untrue, this sounds a bit too much like "The Jews control the government with their money". Please say it ain't so.

      • frank

        i was saying that a long time

  • Peter

    Get this right if nothing else – the heavy lifting in Libya was not done by the US. The US provided submarine based and one naval vessel guided missile support for the first month or so. After that the US was out save for command and control logistics and Intel. The fighters helicopters and bombers over Libya (the manned heavy lifting) were from Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Italy, Norway, Qatar, Spain, and the UK. Command and control was Nato.

    Qaddafi and most of his family were dangerous dumb pig thugs who murdered their own people and not even the Russians or the Chinese were sad to see them go.

    The Libyans are ecstatic they are hiding or in the ground and rightly so. The whole world agreed they should go hence a UN mandate. UN mandate. Understand what that means. U N M A N D A T E. The whole real world agreed.

    No-one except a few right wing war mongering Israeli thugs would support pre-emptive bombing of Iran. Are you guys nutter paranoids or what? What do yo think would happen if Tehran fired a nuclear missile at Israel?

    Let me put it this way: if the Iranians did that it would be the last thing they all ever did in this life. Are you so dumb you think they don't know that? My guess would be that the Brits the French and the US would turn Iran into a fused glass skating rink that will glow in the dark for the next six thousand yeas as a testament to Shiite lunacy.

    So grow up. It ain't gonna happen. The Iranians love their children and their country too.

    • stern

      Actually, you're the nutter, ignoring the Islamic concept of martyrdom. They've said it themselves: "Our strength is that we love death, while our enemies love life."

      Rafsanjani, supposedly the more "moderate" of the mad mullahs, is on record as musing that while a single atomic strike would be all it takes to eliminate Israel, the Islamic world is large enough to absorb numerous strikes and survive.

      If the Iranians are so determined to be peaceful – as you insist – then why are they poking at Israel and the West by refining uranium in greater quantities and to much higher levels of purity than they would need for domestic electrical power generation? Why are they building and testing ever bigger missiles, including ones capable of delivering nuclear warheads to Israel and all of Europe?

      If they love their children and their country, why are they persisting in the face of crippling sanctions? Why don't they agree to get on with the rest of the world, so that their children can enjoy a better life in a happier country?

      Perhaps it's time for you to grow up and see what's really happening in the world.

  • stern

    Sorry, as you can see, this reply was meant for matron, not for you. I posted it in the wrong place and tried to stop my browser, but obviously missed.

  • Choi

    Since the Iranians have said:"s: "Our strength is that we love death, while our enemies love life.", let's REMOVE Iran from the face of the earth and everybody will be HAPPY.
    Iran is the country with NO RIGHT TO EXIST
    They'll be JOYOUSLY DEAD and WE WILL BE HAPPILY ALIVE.
    A world WITHOUT IRAN would be a HAPPY WORLD.

  • stern

    The President actively and loudly advocated for the removal of Mubarak. He couldn't wait for the Egyptians to get rid of him. On the other hand, Ahmadinedjad, who is far more hostile to the US and the West, and who was far harsher on opponents during the brief Iranian uprising, gets no criticism from Obama whatsoever.

    The Tahir Square protestors knew that the US was on their side, and no doubt gained courage from this knowledge. The Green movement in Iran was abandoned to their fates – and the Iranian government was the entity that gained courage from knowing that, while it may not have been on their side, the US wasn't on the side of the protestors either.

    It's tough arguing against logic, Maturin20, but as a bona-fide Israel-hating leftard, you no doubt get plenty of practice.

    • maturin20

      Why would the President waste time criticizing Ahmadinejad when it would only anger the real holders of power in Iran?

      They may have gained courage, but I hardly think it was a determining factor in their success in Tahrir Square. The facts on the ground matter more than the support of a country across the ocean.

      • stern

        Finally, some honesty. The President obviously has not desire to "anger the real holders of power in Iran". Doesn't give a sh-t about the real holders of power in Israel, but doesn't dare upset the Islamists.

        • maturin20

          What would be gained by upsetting the powers in Iran?

          • stern

            Perhaps the end to a despotic rule that kills its own citizens, plus a cessation in the pursuit of nuclear weapons. You know, stuff that's too much for your small brain to comprehend.

          • maturin20

            That's one perhaps. What are the other perhapses?

  • stern

    Thank you, your explanation is greatly appreciated.

  • http://www.casinogrinder.com/casino770/ Casino 770

    Wow Choi, you have a fantastic logic!

  • Ben

    “His actions also prove once again that Israel is held to unique, unfair standards”

    BOOOHOOOOOO

    Yeah unfair standards like turning our head when they get nukes, funding (in the MANY BILLIONS OF DOLLARS) their military which allows Israel to maintain their stockpile and their military strength.

    The author and any one concurring does not know what it’s like to be on the wrong side if the United States.

    Without our support from the beginning Israel would have been crushed. I don’t support cutting ties or financial assistance, but you are taking the overwhelming help you gus receive for granted, especially considering large swaths of America would be A-OK with not sending another dime.