Showing posts with label Foreign Relations. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Foreign Relations. Show all posts

Monday, May 11, 2015

Unreliable as an "ally"

May 11, 2015 Foreign Relations , The Weekly Standard 0 Comments
America's Collapsing Alliances 

By Thomas Donnelly, May 11, 2015, Weekly Standard

It was a long time ago and a galaxy far, far away: In July 2008, presidential candidate Barack Obama made big, bold news by travelling to Berlin to – as The New York Times triumphantly recorded – “restore the world’s faith in strong American leadership and idealism.” With 200,000 Berliners waving campaign-provided American flags, Obama called for renewing America’s alliances and undoing the cowboy unilateralism of George W. Bush and Obama’s 2008 opponent Sen. John McCain.

The events of recent months are an indication of how spectacularly Obama has failed to fulfill his 2008 promise. This week comes the news that Saudi Arabia’s newly installed King Salman and three of the other six Gulf monarchs are boycotting Obama’s Camp David summit – a meeting called by Obama to reassure the Arab states that the forthcoming nuclear deal with Iran was not a betrayal of their longstanding security relationship with the United States. Beyond their fears of Iran’s nukes, the Gulf states see the rise of an aspiring Persian hegemon – in Yemen, in Syria, in Iraq – taking advantage of, if not actively conspiring with, a retreating America. In this case “no show” means “no confidence.”

Read the full story:  www.weeklystandard.com

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Monday, March 2, 2015

While Bibi-Obama Feud, Iran's Scientists Toil Away

While Bibi-Obama Feud, Iran's Scientists Toil Away

March 02, 2015 Foreign Relations , Israel 0 Comments
Jeffrey Goldberg: Obama and Netanyahu Don’t Like or Trust Each Other

Mar. 2, 2015



DICKERSON: “What did you feel about the administration’s — the way they’ve been playing this? You know, the relationship has to exist on Wednesday, Susan Rice’s comments.”

GOLDBERG: “Right.”

DICKERSON: “What was your reaction?”

GOLDBERG: “Well, the relationship is — this is a very, very important point you make. The relationship must exist and must function on Wednesday, because we’re about to head into this very intense period where if the United States makes this deal with Iran, it’s going to have to give strategic reassurance to not only Israel, but all of the Arab states. And so they have to have good communications and some level of trust. I would think, at this point, that the administration realizes that it needs to pull back a little bit from the heated rhetoric. There is — there is amnesty, genuine amnesty between this administration and the Netanyahu administration.”

DICKERSON: “What about —”

GOLDBERG: “But it’s too dangerous. You can’t have it at a certain point.”

DICKERSON: “And how about between the president and the prime minister?”

GOLDBERG: “Well, you know, I — I asked the president, in 2012, I asked him, I said, do you — are you and Netanyahu friends? And he gave me a very elegant answer. He said, well, you know, we’re so busy with our own jobs that it’s hard to — but that was [indecipherable] the point. They really don’t like each other. They really actively don’t like each other and trust each other. And that is a problem for allies.”

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Tuesday, November 11, 2014

W had more respect

November 11, 2014 Canada , Condoleezza Rice 0 Comments
Condi: The World Isn’t Listening To The U.S.

Lucy McCalmont, Nov. 10, 2014, Politico

Condoleezza Rice slammed the Obama administration’s handling of Iraq and America’s lack of strength on the world stage, saying that “nobody listens” when the U.S. isn’t leading.

“What we’re seeing is that when the United States steps back and speaks softly, nobody listens,” the former secretary of state said in an interview with Fox News that aired Monday.

“Americans also don’t like the world that they get when the United States is not deeply engaged and deeply involved,” Rice continued, pointing to beheadings carried out by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, the recent attack in the Canadian parliament and tensions with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Read more: www.politico.com

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Friday, May 30, 2014

NBC Reporter Cannot Name One Country Where Relations Are Better Under Obama --Hope and change, remember...

NBC Reporter Cannot Name One Country Where Relations Are Better Under Obama --Hope and change, remember...

May 30, 2014 Foreign Relations , Obama Administration 0 Comments

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Sunday, May 4, 2014

The Anti-Semitism Of The Obama Administration --Obama, Kerry think ISRAEL is the problem-- not her enemies.

May 04, 2014 Anti-Semitism , Foreign Relations 0 Comments
Photo:  Pete Souza
Official White House Photo
By Ben Shapiro, Apr. 28, 2014, Breitbart.com

On Friday, Secretary of State John Kerry told the Trilateral Commission that Israel would turn into “an apartheid state” unless it made concessions to the Palestinians – the same Palestinians who just signed a peace deal between the Palestinian Authority and internationally recognized terrorist groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad. The same Palestinians who have stated time and again that they will not accept the existence of a Jewish state.

Kerry went on to state that Israel risked more violence if it didn’t make concessions, that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was an impediment to peace, and that he would attempt his own two-state solution. Both sides, he said, would have to “take it or leave it.”

This is pure anti-Semitism. Blaming Israel for its incapacity to make peace with people whose stated goal is to murder Jews cannot be construed as anything other than Jew-hatred. Likening the Jewish state to South Africa, despite the fact that there are well over a million Arab citizens with full voting rights, and despite the fact that the Palestinian territories are completely Judenrein, is more of the same

Upon tape of his remarks hitting the press, Kerry immediately backtracked, stating, “I will not allow my commitment to Israel to be questioned by anyone, particularly for partisan, political purposes...” He then disclaimed that he ever said Israel was an apartheid state, and said, “if I could rewind the tape, I would have chosen a different word to describe my firm belief that the only way in the long term to have a Jewish state and two nations and two people is through a two state solution.”

Sadly, Kerry is simply not believable at this point. The Obama administration has demonstrated a consistent pattern of anti-Semitic rhetoric – even aside from their practical undermining of any Israeli attempt to stop the Iranian nuclear program with repeated national security leaks. It peppers the top ranks of the Obama White House. Here are some of the top examples:

Read the full story:  www.breitbart.com

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Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Ted Cruz Calls On John Kerry To Resign Over Israeli 'Apartheid' Warning --Teddy! Teddy! Teddy!

April 29, 2014 Foreign Relations , House Majority Leader Eric Cantor 0 Comments
Sen. Ted Cruz
By Sahil Kapur, Apr. 28, 2014, Talkingpointsmemo.com

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) on Monday called on John Kerry to resign after the U.S. secretary of state privately told important world leaders that Israel could become "an apartheid state" if it doesn't make peace with the Palestinians soon, as reported by The Daily Beast on Sunday.

In a floor speech, Cruz accused his former Senate colleague of displaying a "shocking lack of sensitivity to the incendiary and damaging nature of his rhetoric."

"Mr. President, it is my belief that Secretary Kerry has thus proven himself unsuitable for his position and that before any further harm is done to our alliance with Israel, he should offer President Obama his resignation and the President should accept it," said Cruz, who was one of just 3 senators who voted against Kerry's confirmation to his post last year.

The conservative firebrand's remarks came on the same day that House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA), the only Jewish Republican in Congress, called on Kerry to apologize to Israelis and their government.

In a statement provided to TPM, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki explained his remarks about Israel and the Mid-East peace process, which is a high priority for Kerry.

Read the full story:  www.talkingpointsmemo.com

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Monday, April 21, 2014

Obama Gives Terror Nation Iran $450 Million In Frozen Assets For Good Behavior --Trust but verify?

April 21, 2014 Atomic Energy Agency , Foreign Aid 0 Comments
By Reuters, Apr. 19, 2014

The United States has taken steps to release a $450 million (267.9 million pounds) installment of frozen Iranian funds following a report from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) verifying that Iran is living up to its part of a landmark nuclear pact with world powers, the U.S. State Department said on Thursday.

State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said that “all sides have kept the commitments made” under the agreement. She said that “as Iran remains in line with its commitments,” the United States, France, Germany, Britain, China, Russia and the European Union “will continue to uphold our commitments as well.”

The report by the U.N. nuclear agency showed that Iran had – as stipulated under the November 24 agreement – diluted half of its higher-grade enriched uranium reserve to a fissile content less prone to bomb proliferation. Tehran has also continued to convert the other half of its stock of uranium gas refined to a 20 percent fissile purity, the IAEA report said.

 Read the full story:  www.patdollard.com

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Thursday, April 10, 2014

Why Kerry Let the Palestinians Make a Fool Out of Him - By Larry Elder

April 10, 2014 Articles by Larry Elder , Foreign Relations 0 Comments
By Larry Elder, Apr. 10, 2014

For reasons perhaps only psychiatrists understand, Democratic presidents seek, at last, finally and forever, to "solve" the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Maybe it's something akin to discovering that ultimate, clean-burning, renewable source of energy. Then when the talks collapse, an inevitability as long as one side refuses to accept Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state, Israel gets blamed.

Secretary of State John Kerry, weeks ago, boldly announced his trip to the Middle East where he would shuttle between the parties, applying his decades of foreign policy experience and skill to at last resolve the conflict. Then came the reality check. "There are limits to the amount of time the president and myself can put into this," said the exhausted and frustrated Kerry, "considering the other challenges around the world, especially if the parties can't commit to being there in a serious way." A recent Times of Israel headline said: "Kerry Focuses Blame On Israel For Collapse Of Talks."

And it all began with such promise.

 Presidential candidate Obama sympathized with the Palestinians. He said, "Nobody's suffering more than the Palestinian people." Obama considered Israeli "intransigence" the real obstacle to a two-state solution -- as opposed to the fear of a bordering Palestinian terror state full of suicide bombers committed to Israel's destruction.

Vice President Joe Biden set the tone early. He publicly condemned Israel's construction of so-called "settlements" -- and pointedly showed up 90 minutes late to a dinner hosted by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Two weeks later, Obama delivered another diplomatic face slap to the visiting Netanyahu by abruptly interrupting their White House meeting for over an hour. Obama told the PM that he was leaving to have dinner with "Michelle and the girls."

Obama, and before him Presidents Carter and Clinton, convinced themselves that the road -- to not just Middle East peace but worldwide peace itself -- goes through Jerusalem. To this end, they believe that Israeli "settlements," not Palestinian homicide bombers, pose the true "obstacle to peace."

Polls do indeed say Palestinians just want a state called Palestine. Trouble is, they define a "return to historic Palestine" as a state that runs from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea -- leaving zero room for Israel, let alone an Israel recognized as a Jewish state. 


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Wednesday, March 26, 2014

"Rumsfeld: U.S. Ties with Karzai 'Gone Downhill Like a Toboggan' Under Obama" -Snatching defeat from jaws of victory.

March 26, 2014 Afghanista , Donald Rumsfeld 0 Comments
By Susan Jones, Mar. 25, 2014, CNSNews.com
Donald Rumsfeld, who served as U.S. Defense Secretary under President George W. Bush, blames poor diplomacy by the Obama administration for the current strained relations with Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
"Our relationship with Karzai and with Afghanistan was absolutely first-rate in the Bush administration," Rumsfeld told Fox News's Greta Van Susteren on Monday. "It has gone down hill like a toboggan ever since the Obama administration came in."
Rumsfeld pointed to the fact that the Obama administration has failed to get Karzai to sign an agreement that would allow some U.S. troops to remain in Afghanistan after 2014, when combat ends.

 Read the full story:  www.cnsnews.com

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