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Obama Foreign Policy Tag

Posted by William A. Jacobson on June 01, 2011 3 Comments

We have set the bar so low for how the international community deals with the bloodshed in Syria, that even Bashar Assad probably can meet it:The United States said Wednesday that Syria's release of political prisoners "does not go far enough," adding that all such...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 28, 2011 6 Comments

In a draft statement the G-8 nations were set to echo Obama's call for negotiations based on the 1967 borders, the same framework which caused outrage in the U.S. Congress: Group of Eight leaders will give "strong support" to U.S. President Barack Obama's call for an...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 27, 2011 6 Comments

Charles Krauthammer (h/t @fuzislippers) has a column today about Obama's Middle East policy, and ends with this question:The only remaining question is whether this perverse and ultimately self-defeating policy is born of genuine antipathy toward Israel or of the arrogance of a blundering amateur who...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 25, 2011 11 Comments

Jeffrey Goldberg at The Atlantic has been leading the charge, echoed by many, not only that Bibi Netanyahu was disrespectful to "my President," but also that Obama's statement regarding Israel's borders in his Middle East speech last Thursday did not represent any meaningful change in U.S. policy.In...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 23, 2011 10 Comments

Why are the pre-1967 borders of Israel, which amount to the 1949 armistice lines, so sacrosanct?Once you buy into the narrative of exclusive Palestinian victimization, once you take the Helen Thomas view which is widely accepted in many circles that Israel is an alien European...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 23, 2011 9 Comments

The disloyalty card is being played by Jeffrey Goldberg (who took great offense to Benjamin Netanyahu's perceived disrespect towards "my President"), Glenn Greenwald (the evil and disloyal Israel Lobby, again) and Andrew Sullivan (the Israeli-influenced media and the crazy Christians, again).Yet these critics who are so quick to run for...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 22, 2011 12 Comments

If you needed proof that Obama's Middle East speech was a mistake and simply would embolden Palestinians to pocket the territorial victory, you didn't need to wait long:Palestinian Authority chief negotiator Saeb Erekat on Sunday said that he agreed with US President Barack Obama's assertion that...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 20, 2011 17 Comments

Some people are referring to this as a smackdown, but I don't think so.  Netanyahu made the case which needs to be made, and has been made before (via Uncoverage):The key thing is, Netanyahu did not use the word "expect" because that would have caused...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 20, 2011 30 Comments

Jeffrey Goldberg writes a ridiculous article expressing indignation that Bibi Netanyahu used the word "expect" in connection with U.S. policy towards Israel, Dear Mr. Netanyahu, Please Don't Speak to My President That Way:For whatever reason, I tend to react strongly when a foreign leader disrespects...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 20, 2011 28 Comments

Why yesterday for Obama to unload the demand that Israel withdraw to the pre-1967 borders, with some negotiated land swaps?  Contrary to what some are claiming, this is a new formulation.  Under the Obama formulation, Israel has a land mass fixed by the 1949 armistice lines,...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 19, 2011 35 Comments

That's pretty much the upshot of Obama coming down firmly on the side of the pre-1967 borders being the end result of a peace agreement, plus some land swapping.While some have contended this merely states prior policy, there is an important shift.  Prior policy emphasized the...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 19, 2011 38 Comments

Israel's pre-1967 borders had no geographical or military logic.  Those borders simply were the armistice lines after the Arabs failed to drive the Jews into the sea.The border is not defensible, as it leaves the middle of Israel only about 10 miles wide.  One of the reasons...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 12, 2011 2 Comments

As more details have come out about the decision-making process which led to the raid on Osama bin Laden's compount, it is clear that the decision was tantamount to placing a bet.  As Obama acknowledged during his 60 Minutes interview, there was only slightly better...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 10, 2011 6 Comments

George Bush's supposed walk-away from the hunt for bin Laden has been all over the news, in the blogosphere, and even in the comments here.Everyone points to this video, six months after 9/11.I have pointed out that the video is overstated, because at the time...

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