Not too long ago I was discussing with my daughter in Israel the abysmal choices she faces in the upcoming election there. In the end, she said, it didn’t really matter who won the election. “We’re waiting for Obama.” Exactly.
Almost since I’ve started this blog, I’ve pointed out that the last eight years of death and destruction in the Israel/Palestine conflict is just one more on the long lists of the crimes of Bush & Co. Over six years ago I wrote the following:
When Sharon was in the States recently he called Bush “the best friend America ever had.” That’s because Bush is the first American president to give an Israeli Prime Minister a total carte blanche. And of all Prime Ministers to do this for! If a person who sees someone standing on a ledge and shouts “Jump, jump,” is considered a good friend, then yes, George Bush is a great friend of Israel.
Sharon has played his hands “brilliantly” so far. Every time negotiations seem a “threat,” he ups the violence a bit and baits the Palestinians. The Hamas plays right into his hand with some spectacular terrorist attack. Then Sharon turns to Bush and says “Hey, I’m just fighting the terrorists just like you want. How can you expect me to [ease restrictions on the Palestinians/give the PA money/limit Palestinian civilian deaths/start negotiations] when Israeli civilians are being butchered by terrorists?”
In my previous post I compared Israel to a mad dog on a leash. The only power on the planet that can restrain the mad dog is the US. Previous Presidents always did, some more and some less. But Bush let the mad dog loose and stood by and watched the havoc. The fact that the worst war criminal Israel ever produced called Bush “the best friend America ever had,” tells you all you need to know about Bush.
So yes, we are all waiting for Obama to take hold of the leash and give a strong yank. Before today there were rumors Dennis Ross was going to be Obama’s appointment to head up Israel/Palestine negotiations. That would have been a disaster. Ross is one of those behind the “myth of camp david,” the argument that Barak offered everything possible to Arafat at Camp David and his most generous offer was rejected. This myth laid the groundwork to the breakdown in Israeli/Palestinian negotiations, Sharon’s election as Prime Minister and the subsequent disastrous eight years. Ross is not only Jewish, but clearly favors the Israeli position and can not be seen as an unbiased broker.
George Mitchell is a great appointment in my opinion. For one thing, he has a successful track record as a negotiator in the North Ireland conflict. He also is viewed favorably by both Israelis and Palestinians. The report he issued in 2001 as part of a fact-finding commission on the outbreak of the second intifada was fair, intelligent and insightful, and was acceptable to both sides. Bush could have used it as a tool to stop the incipient violence and get negotiations back on track. Instead he threw it in the trash can.
The fact that Obama made this appointment and made it on his second day as President, is a great start to undoing this particular disaster that Bush bequeathed to his successor.
Tags: US Politics
