John Kerry tagged team with Obama to extract a humiliating apology from Israel over the deaths of Turks who violently attacked Israeli soldiers lawfully boarding a ship breaking the lawful Gaza military blockade.
The Turks and others in the Muslim world took the apology as a sign of Israeli weakness and a victory.
The Turks then quickly backed out of the deal to normalize relations, which the apology was supposed to accomplish.
Kerry is back in Turkey trying to hold the Turks to their promise, but the Turks are demanding that Israel jump even higher.
Turkey Raises New Issues in Accord With Israel:
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry pressed Turkey and Israel on Sunday to move forward with a diplomatic rapprochement brokered by President Barack Obama last month, which the U.S. views as central to promoting stability in Middle East hot spots like Syria and the Palestinian territories.
But Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmed Davutoglu responded by publicly outlining further steps Israel needed to take in order to restore full diplomatic ties, including a complete lifting of the economic embargoes imposed on Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip.
American officials are worried the Turkish diplomat’s position could lead Ankara to stall in normalizing relations with the Jewish state and provide Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan with an issue to continue attacking Israel’s policies in the region. Mr. Erdogan has said he plans to visit the Gaza Strip in May….
During the phone call, Mr. Netanyahu complied with a long-standing Turkish demand by apologizing for the attack and pledging to provide financial compensation to the families of those who died in the raid. A team of Israeli negotiators are expected in Turkey this month to try to set the size and terms of the settlement.
Still, Turkey’s demand Sunday that Israel lift all limitations on travel and trade on the Gaza Strip risked emerging as an open-ended issue that could cloud Turkish-Israeli relations for the indefinite future. Any visit by Mr. Erdogan to Gaza could also strain relations again with Mr. Netanyahu.
Mr. Kerry was careful not to criticize Ankara’s position or to set a timeline for the normalization of Turkish-Israeli ties.
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Comments
Somebody should slap both Obama and Kerry silly. Do those morons think in terms of actions and consequences? Somebody ought to introduce them to Graham Allison’s Essence of Decision to help them think constructively about choices and sound decision-making. Idiots!
they already are silly.
silly stupid.
but a good slap is still a good idea.
maybe kerry can get a medal over it.
Be on the look out for a call/visit from the SS. They will most times take a word like ‘slap’ or ‘slap silly’ literally, instead of the figurative way you’ve used the words.
Other than that sour note, great post! 🙂
Heh. They can’t reach me where I am.
I don’t think Senator Botox would feel it if you slapped him.
Lurch wasn’t expecting the very tactics his merry band of ass clowns use on everyone else? Incompetent would be an improvement.
SoftPower(tm)…like a limp noodle…never does the job and leaves people frustrated and more aggressive.
The Apology was given, the Turks need to stick to their word. NATO may have to get involved if they don’t.
Let me get this straight.
So, the leader of a people subjected to genocide in recent history is strongarmed by an empty-birthday-suit wearing, Churchill-bust discarding, leading-from-behind “leader” into apologizing to the leader of a people guilty of committing genocide in recent history for protecting his people from a shameless and reckless provocation obviously destined to end badly.
If ever someone deserved an undeserved Nobel Peace Prize …
Paging Mr. Orwell. You have a call on the blood-red courtesy phone.
Well. That makes it simple. No more concessions from Israel to Obama. My guess is that if Turkey continues to be bellicose, Israel will simply ignore them.
Turkey needs Israel FAR more than Israel needs Turkey, and if Turkey doesn’t get their act together soon, they’re going to get screwed when Israel starts to export energy to the region, and also in the holdup of arms, equipment and design specifications (Israel makes a key component to the AWACS system that Turkey NEEDS badly).
My guess is that equipment embargo just went back into place, and that Netanyahu is going to tell Obama to go screw himself when Obama calls to try to smooth it over.
I hate those people (Obama, Kerry, Clinton, etc.). Traitors to human rights everywhere.
Ahhhh…Yes, the triumphs(cough)of the(cough)Clinton State Years is to be followed by the strength and character(cough, cough)of the Kerry State Years.
A comfort(cough)to the Israelis and Bibi, no doubt. By the by, did y’all know that John Boy Kerry served in VietNam for 3 or 4 months 45-years ago??!! Yep, somethin’ like 37 purple hearts and not a day on that Swift Boat missed. Heroic,’Yo.