President Obama on Israel: 'Part of Being a Good Friend Is Being Honest'

Rep. Shelley Berkley is another U.S. politician who seems to have placed her loyalty as an American second to her loyalty (as a Jew), to Israel.

All sides, and I mean ALL sides. have been building towards this stalemate for decades now. No one can back down, no one can be seen to giving in. And far to many political stands in nations all over the world are based upon what THEY can get out of the dilemma. The Arab world needs to consider the fact that the even the most moderate wishes for a Palestinian state involve a geographical boundary that precludes the Palestinians from ever living in a viable, forward looking country. Israel needs to realize that while they him and haw about a solution, the longer term worries such as water and poverty slip further and further behind in their own backyard. All sides need to take a deep breath, stand WAY back and take a good long hard look at what would work. What would be a viable solution for not only Israel, ALL the Palestinian people and the region as a whole?

cool

abe:
re: 'it's their historical - belief burden."

I do understand your point, your comment
pretty much summarizes the entire mid east conflict, ...no matter who offers what, ''it's their historical - belief burden" that gets in the way eventually.....

it is an unending tragedy

Veritas,
goddess of truth, a daughter of Saturn and the mother of Virtue

obama/israel.. i like it..

..maybe:
coerced subjugation by MNC influence over local governing bodies

avuncular methodologies for gleaning resources from lesser organized countries

formation of multinational regional organizations with big brother states having greater say-so than less powerful, needier nations

KR...
Thanx.. finally, someone can decipher my Tongue-in-cheek buffoonery.. you are probably too intelligent to blog here..

"President Obama on Israel: 'Part of Being a Good Friend Is Being Honest'"

Israel on Obama: 'With friends like Obama, who needs enemies?'

I meant to say that you are mistaken. Arabs, as a whole in high percentage, hate the Israelis, the Jews and Israel. The exact percentage might be changed in the edges, but still Arab populations in the ME reject the very notion that Jews have right to live in their national home in Palestine (the Roman occupier name for the Land of Israel). That's why many among them even don't call Israel by hers name but by a nickname: "The Zionist entity".

" they were better at colonialism and imperialism than the U.S."

Was this in jest?

I ask because when people pin "imperialism" or "hegemony" on the U.S. it usually has nothing to do with the definition of imperialism or hegemony.

Hegemony - leadership or predominant influence exercised by one nation over others, as in a confederation.

Imperialsism - the policy of extending the rule or authority of an empire or nation over foreign countries, or of acquiring and holding colonies and dependencies.

What I find is people use only a portion of these definitions to justify using the entire word description. Reality is our nation has great influence economically and militarily to support its interests, not unlike any other nation. Ours is just bigger, which in and of itself makes us a villain somhow. Every nation uses its elements of national power to support its interests. Even Obama has quoted to say the same thing. Does this mean Obama is an imperialist? Does it mean he is going to propagate US hegemony?

Of course not. But he is going to promote US interests which is what every President does, and has done.

The Romans were experts in transforming captive populations into denizens of Rome... they were better at colonialism and imperialism than the U.S.

Just of note from the Roman occupation of Israel/Palestine.

The Romans called it Palestine but appointed a Jewish King. Most likely a political move by the Romans to get the two factions to hate each other more than Rome. It's interesting because even the Romans 2,000 years ago understood that keeping them fighting each other rather than fighting Rome benefited Rome. Seems like today the only difference is there is no Rome occupier, but the calculus is the same. If they are fighting each other, they aren't fighting us.

What I love the most about these blogs..is that current history always begins in the year 2001.. it is the line of demarkation.. prior to this date, all was well.. you have to go back before most of the commenters were born to find a similar eight year history of disaster (as 2001 to 2009)!

"Again, don't presume to speak on behalf of contemporary Arab countries, or Arab peoples in 2009. Give them at least the decency of letting them speak on their own behalf, not put your understanding in their mouths."

Danita, go read about "Black September". Read how the PLO has been a threat to the neighboring Arab nations for decades. Don't have to speak for the Arab governments to read the history books.

And with your logic, since none of us are an Arab government, we cannot talk about it.

We bring up these points because it is important to understand them in context with our President and what he says. If you don't research a little history, how can you have an educated opinion on this matter? Talking in great plattitudes is great, but it is meaningless. Our President is stepping on toes and its important to understand how and why. Not for criticism, but for our own education and knowledge.

postman, I understood your claim at the first time. I think that you don't understand mine.

I think that Arab Palestinian has the right to attack Israel's targets as they wish. They mainly attack civilian targets in purpose, although they can do so against military targets. They want to break the will and coherence of the Israelis. But they fail time and again. Israelis are uniting against any foreign intervention in their local affairs. Obama should know that either or he will fail in that matter.
Israel (and the 'Irgun' for that matter) reacts by hitting terror targets, trying as much as possible, to hurt Arab civilians.
The difference makes the point. For many evidence we all know that the majority of the Palestinian Arabs don't tend to accept Israel's right to exist. They translate the Roman occupier name's "Palestine" as their own asset. They think that they are Mouhammad messenger in combating the Judeo-Christian invaders to the "Dahr El-Islam" (land of Islam where Muslims are ruling for now before occupying the land of wars, the land of Gentiles = "Dahr El-Harb" (literally = 'Land of the sword'). Israel is located in their midst of their land of Islam and it's their historical - belief burden.

What I want to emphasize is that what ever Israel will do in order to promote the peace the Palestinian Arabs will do less and will blame Israel for the next crisis. The Hamas and even the Fatah (PLO, PA) exercise their tactics that is called "the stage program" (1974), in order to defeat Israel in stages of wars/terror attacks and peace talks combined, as the do until these days.

AbeBird . . ..

Again, don't presume to speak on behalf of contemporary Arab countries, or Arab peoples in 2009. Give them at least the decency of letting them speak on their own behalf, not put your understanding in their mouths.

danita , most Arabs hate Palestinian Arabs. The "Palestinian" problem was for 60 years the issue that Arab countries cultivated in order to mislead their own citizens from the real problems of the Arab countries. Each time that opposition was emerged in some state the government accused it by claiming that they play for Israel favor and preventing the citizens from dealing with the "real problem" - Israel. That's why you don't see even today real oppositions in Arab countries.

Abe:

I'll try again,....

Israel has the right to do whatever it thinks is necessary to defend it's own interests.

Israel is NOT the only country or people who take that position.

Each country or people justifies their actions based on what they consider to be 'right' for them.

You have a pro Israel perspective, someone else might be pro Palestinian...

You both believe that the 'right' is on your side, and do so passionately.

What you believe for your side, is what someone else believes about their side.

The Irgun blew up a building because they believed in their cause and it was the right thing to do.

Are you suggesting that only the Israelis would be capable of coming to that kind of conclusion, acting, by whatever means on their own behalf in their own best interest?

Arab countries helped to make the Bush family even richer through Carlisle and other oil interests. Oil speaks louder that ethics in some circle.

And I'm tired of hearing this nonsense about President Obama 'bowing' to the Arab countries.

Extremists are extremists whether jewish, arab or someone like yourself. The majority of people are just normal, decent folks trying to get along, raise and support their families and have a decent quality of life.

"You stated "none of those Arab countries want an established Palestinian state".

This is not the position of Arab governments."

Danita, the Arab states are demanding that Israel recognize a Palestinian state, something they know they will not do. Lets lay this out a little further. The Arabs know that the Palestinians want one result, no more Israel. That all of the territories that is modern day Israel/Palestine become just Palestine. Many Jews have the opposite view. Their faith says that land belongs to them with no compromise. Thus if either recognizes the existance of the other, they nullify their claim to what they deem is their land.

Now, Arabs know this well. So they get people to focus on the impossible, Israel recognizing a Palestinian state. King of Jordan just put out this exact talking point. So why not just get all of the Arab nations, and the world, to recognize a Palestinian state? They don't need Israel's permission to recognize a Palestine anymore than Germany needed Serbia's permission to recognize Kosovo. Whats stopping them? They entire arguement hinges on Israel making that decision, it would be like us demanding Serbia recognizing Kosovo.

The conflict with Israel gives them a necessary distraction from having to do just that. It's calculated and intention, and it removes them from being in the fray.