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July 3, 2013
Kerry In Wonderland
Syria is in the middle of a savage Civil War; Egypt is unraveling as millions take to the street demanding President Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood cohorts step down; Turkey is dealing with Islamist PM Erdpgan's attempts to revive the gory days of the Ottoman Empire and Caliphate; Libya is, well, let’s just say Benghazi is an unresolved debacle; Lebanon/Hezbollah are dangerously close to Syria’s civil war; Iraq is slowly but surely regressing to the not-so-good ole days; and Iran, with its newly-elected moderate mass murderer as President, is galloping along with its nuclear weapons program.
So where is the U.S. administration?
Well, President Obama and family are off on a $100 million summer jaunt to Africa, and Secretary of State John Kerry is lounging around in peaceful Jerusalem, trying to resuscitate a dead Israeli-Palestinian “peace process” (see below).
Absurd? So much so, in fact, that the paper of record for the Obama Administration, The New York Times, has suggested:
“But with so much of the Middle East still convulsing from the effects of the Arab Spring, Mr. Kerry’s efforts raise questions about the Obama administration’s priorities at a time of renewed regional unrest.”
Memo to Obama et al: Despite your ongoing efforts, this is NOT the time to stick it to Israel. Better to use your down time this summer to come up with a coherent foreign policy.
The Washington Post | July 3, 2013
Why Is Kerry Spending His Time In Israel?
By Jennifer Rubin
Secretary of State John Kerry looks out at the Old City in Jerusalem before a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on May 24, 2013. State Dept Image
Oren Kessler in Foreign Policy asks, “Why is John Kerry shuttling around trying to kick-start a Middle East peace process that no one wants?”
He proceeds to explain that in Israel:
It’s not just right-wingers who predict Kerry’s campaign is doomed. Barak Ravid of the progressive daily Haaretz dubbed the secretary of state “naive” and “ham-handed” for his efforts. His colleague Ari Shavit concluded bluntly that there was “no serious Israeli or Palestinian who thinks that the Kerry approach would work.”
And the Palestinians are in turmoil with the resignation of Salam Fayyad’s replacement and remain locked in partnership with Hamas. There is no indication Mahmoud Abbas has the will or ability to make a deal. As Elliott Abrams observes, Abbas again demonstrates the Palestinians are unprepared for peace by awarding another medal to another terrorist. (“It is part of a pattern. . . of honoring perpetrators of terror.”)
But Kessler never really answers the question: Why is Kerry fixated on the peace process? There are several possibilities:
1. He isn’t allowed to make any real policy (that’s done out of the White House) so he needs to find something to do.
2. He doesn’t want to be remembered in the Middle East as “the guy who coddled Bashar al-Assad.”
3. His efforts impress his Georgetown cocktail party friends.
4. He actually listens to the advice of Israeli President Shimon Peres, who lacks power and is widely derided in Israel, but is fawned upon by naive Americans.
5. If he stays away from calamities like Iran negotiations, Egypt, North Korea and Syria he is less likely to be blamed for them.
6. He still clings to the discredited theory of linkage, believing progress on the “peace talks” will solve the region’s other problems.
7. He didn’t understand Hillary Clinton was being sarcastic when she said, “John, go for it! Spend the next couple of years running back and forth. That’ll be a good use of your time.”
8. Teresa likes shopping in Tel Aviv.
9. To get the job, he promised President Obama he’d do the talking with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu so Obama wouldn’t have to after one useless photo op trip to Israel.
10. He really has no clue what is going on there.
These are not mutually exclusive.
Original article here.
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Notable Quotables
"Mr. Netanyahu is one of the most media-savvy politicians on the planet. On Friday he appeared live via video link on 'Real Time with Bill Maher,' taking the host’s alternately sardonic and serious line of questioning with gazelle-like alacrity."
~ Anthony Grant, jourrnalist who has written for many major newspapers and worked in television at Paris and Tel Aviv, interviewing former PM Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, at the outset of Mr. Netanyahu's new book (more here).
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