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Obama: Bad president, good for Israel?
By Barry RubinI have just returned from briefing a high-ranking official of country X on the Middle East. We kept coming back to a vital theme: the incredibly shrinking power of the United States. Try to explain American behavior to neutral, open-minded third parties for whom US policy activities have become just plain bizarre! ...You have to understand, I tell the diplomat, that there's been for all practical purposes a revolution in the United States, at least in terms of its governance. Regarding foreign policy, all the old rules don't apply -- credibility; punishing enemies and rewarding friends; deterrence; don't leave your men behind to die; don't appoint a muddleheaded fool to be secretary of defense. In each case there is a nicely crafted rationalization for going against centuries of diplomatic and security practices. But so what? It's still wrong. Obama is too busy in apologizing for real or imagined past US bullying, proving he only believes in multilateral action, has so much respect for local customs, and trying to demonstrate to those that hate it that America is their buddy in order to win them over. The language above is harsh, but it is also true. Once upon a time there were two superpowers, the United States and USSR, in the Cold War. Then there was one superpower, the United States. Now there are none. And yet what this means from Israel's standpoint may be very different from what you'd expect. Israel can cope with this situation, especially since it continues to receive US military aid, some diplomatic backing, and nice rhetoric about the ironclad special relationship between the two countries. And those assets rest on a foundation of public and congressional support for Israel in the United States. Indeed, it is clear that Israel is the only -- the only -- factor that Obama doesn't like that has been able to preserve its interests while other seemingly far more powerful forces -- the health industry, the energy industry, the National Rifle Association, for example -- have been battered into defeat or are hard-pressed. Moreover, Israel can defend itself. It is willing to take unilateral action and can succeed in doing so. ...Obama is the president of the United States twice elected by the American people and he will be president for the next four years. It is not the task of Israel's government to interfere with America's internally made choices. It is the job of Israel's government to live as best as possible with those rulers, minimize the disadvantage, and wait out this period by agreeing, smiling, giving in on small things, and doing everything possible to protect the nation's security. And thus Israeli leaders should applaud Obama, say what a good friend he is, and do everything possible to maximize cooperation on the critical issues that both countries face. These include continued military and intelligence cooperation as well as the maximum possible support on Iran and other issues. In this context, Israel -- like every other country friendly with the United States able to do so -- retains its independence of action while minimizing friction. People like me are free to express our views about the damage he is doing. That damage is first and foremost to US national interests; second to the lives of people in Arabic- speaking countries, Turks, and Iranians; and only in third place to Israel. Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2013-03-11 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=363941 |