by Lawrence Davidson
November 22, 2010
In this scenario President Obama is motivated by an obsessive drive to be the man who settles the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Of course, if accomplished, it will be a very messy sort of settlement considering that Hamas is out of the loop and Abbas really does not represent most of the Palestinians. Indeed, Abbas’s probable fate is not to die in bed. Nonetheless, the settlement, such as it is, will be Obama’s legacy and simultaneously it may allow him, as Juan Cole has suggested, to outmaneuver the unscrupulous Republican opposition in the House. Also, he certainly believes it will help him become a two term president.
If Obama can accomplish this (and many things can go wrong with this scenario) there will be an “official agreement” under cover of which the United States and Europe can abandon those Palestinians not confined to the Palestinian “state.” They will declare the problem solved and treat in a ferocious manner any party, such as Hamas and Palestinian refugee groups, who say otherwise. Thus, the West Bank Palestinians will “officially” get bantustans which the West will call a state. And then a long war of attrition will be waged against the “terrorists” and “spoilers” who would upset the “peace” settlement. This too will be part of Obama’s legacy.
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by SR Editor
November 17, 2010
AIPAC is now fighting for its life, or – as one former AIPAC attorney put it – “reason for being.” AIPAC is now fighting for its life, or – as one former AIPAC attorney put it – “reason for being.” If Rosen proves in court that AIPAC has long handled classified information while lobbying for Israel, the worn public pretense that AIPAC is anything but a stealth extension of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs – from which it emerged in 1951 – will end forever.
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