“Obama’s promise of Change had/has so much resonance…”

Candidate Obama never once stood up for what his version of change would really mean. Even in his speech on terrorism yesterday, there were a lot of platitudes but no substance, a lot of wishy but it doesn’t wash. I have to say that thus far president Obama has shown a considerable adeptness at change. He has changed what was a vibrant economy headed for some understandably tough times, into angry multigenerational debt ridden and therefor unproductive mass of humanity, overburdened by tax and overshadowed by high prices and even higher interest rates.

I have no doubt you are sincere Benj, I believe you about the resonance.

That is sure some change.

Naw, It is not that I think president Obama and Code pink are tight (they have a fundamental disagreement on how to achieve the same or nearly the same result), the point was aimed at the rats behavior generally, and how President Bush did not attempt to stifle them. (President Lincoln would not have been so patient I think, but it is hard to say given his kid gloves approach on most matters of northern dissent.) The record for D-rats is, generally on these matters, a horrible march over the top of individual’s rights. I have little to encourage any belief that president Obama will be much different in being a reactor as opposed to actually putting new ideas in play.

The Cuban kid’s Mom, RIP, disagreed with your assessment of where he belonged, for good reason. Frankly, it is for that and other good reasons, I have doubts about your own clarity, and that of the Clinton’s asst. AG. Isn’t that guy president Obama’s AG, Erich something or other?

See, now that we are no longer at war, why does president Obama still retain the rights to use those leftover Bush era extra powers.

I see we have a difference of opinion about the tactics involved in the surge strategy which was used to achieve the exact same goal President Bush decided upon (democracy) as a way to put into effect the policy President Clinton signed into law. if it were not for Iranian intervention in the events in Iraq, there would not have been the need for the surge. While collusion is a stretch as well as unlikely, it is not so tough to imagine that without Iranian interference the golden mosque may never have been bombed. The more ridiculous part of that whole chain of events is that I believe reconciliation would be having an even tougher go even now and the Iraqi security forces would not be as well trained nor as effective as they have become with the hard edge of combat and the trials of facing the Mahdi Army.

Your fellow Bromwich has a good grasp of what went on with president Obama’s message as reported by the NYT. Welcome to the club.

It may be that is what the result would have been without the miscues. But pressure to accept the two state solution needs to be applied when the result is achievable. Israel has agreed in principal to the concept. Israel has shown good faith in pulling out of Gaza and even in the methods of conduct during the fighting in Gaza and in So. Lebanon. The Palestinians have not done themselves any favors. Israel nor the world has any reason to believe that the Palestinians governing body wishes anything but destruction and death to Israeli Citizens. NO REASON TO BELIEVE. Heck even Arafat would lie about his intentions. so I guess we should applaud Hammas at least, for not lying to us.

PS That line re Cuban kidnapping was a wowser…- Hard for me to believe you’d go there…I’m thinking I might detest Fidel even more personally than you do – got buddies from there who paid serious dues ..But, damn, that kid belonged with his dad. You’ve got clarity about that sort of thing generally so why does it desert you here…

Are you letting ideology trump your good sense. Code Pink? Tbey’ve been as distant from O’s politics as Dick Cheney…Keep your balance man. And as for Benjamin N. – What’d he get – 30% of the vote in Israel? I wouln’t be under any illusions there. Binny has some friends with hardcore neo-cons on the right, in America but he’s anything but a beloved figure in Israel. Hell, the hard right in Israel is lock on that wonderful new Foreign M. – Binny is much more careful re going after the straight up racist vote in-country. BTW – the best account of what happened at that Binny/O meeting that I’ve seen is by a prof named Bromwich who posts at Huff. You might not like his politics – but he knows the Movement Conservative canon – he’s writing a book on Burke now =-…Check him out…At the very least you’ll be clearer about what to be angry about when it comes to O. You may not like, but he knows what’s he’s about.

I hope you will read that fellow Avnery – gives you a different pov on the the history in the making…

I know that Israel is still there in the book of Revelations, it is the promised land, and the United States is not in Revelations. In fact we are not mentioned in bible prophecies, and I have searched for it.

I think we are in worse danger than a very small country that has the weapons and war around them, unless we always stand by them. We must always be the ally to Israel and never turn on her. When we turn on Israel we turn on God, because Jesus said Israel is his.

Zechariah 12:2-3: “I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling. Judah will be besieged as well as Jerusalem. On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves”.

Israel is God’s timepiece.

Good points. The question comes down not only to how much Israel really knows about Iranian capabilities but also how much does the US really know about Iranian Capabilities.

If as is hoped, Rahm Emanuel puts a no BS stance on US/Israeli relations, what kinds of BS is the Obama Administration willing to put up with from the Arabs or from the Persians? How is the Iranian President, who conducted assassinations in Europe for the Ayatollah Khomnie, the conductor of sordid acts and developer of sordid tactics for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, to be labeled? How is the Ayatollah Khamanie to be viewed. How committed to the 12er philosophy are they, really?
Are they rational thinkers in just wanting the Bomb as a hedge against Arabs and Europeans? Are they serious about setting up a new Caliphate? Or are they just seeking the end of days.
That in a nutshell is what the question comes down to. It is the answer that scares so many, and should be cause for a remarkable amount of focus. For the answer may cause all other considerations to be irrelevant.

my observations exclusively, and my do centavos of opinion but add to saudi and egypt the uae as potential allies to israeli actions against iran.

iran still holds two oil rich island in the gulf that are sovereign uae territory. the military doctrine is 100% geared towards a defense posture against the iranians. security on the costal ares and straits of hormutz has been bolstered thansk to british navy and u.s.coast guard. cutters are being built in abu dhabi shipyards for enhance control of waterways,arco traffic and illegal iranians. given thedebt mountain that is bearing down on dubai and the available reources (ports, new aitports, massive jet fuel storage) a few bucks in service contracts will get the emeirates off the fence…especiallyif the saudis are leading te parade. monkey see…ya get me…

much talk in thee waters for a strike that would destroy all power gen. and distribution systems in the regions of the nukes. no need to do more…just eleiminate power grid and bring things to a halt. ability tomrebuild anything in miran is mission impossible. everything would have to come from dubai anyway so control is there.

gulf arabs already think obama is weak and a bullshit artist viz. palestine. crucuial for all arabs is the identificationmof the ‘’strong horse”. obama is a slick pony at best. most big dog arabs admired W no matter what the public posture.

last week Collie ”the powell” gave a commencment address to he american univ.of dubai. his reception by the royal family was cool at best. compare this freak show to any visit by ‘’stormin normin”, which is always a love fest of big dogs. bottomline for arabs…obama ain’t no muslim…and sadly, he’s an african !!!!! refer to history of gulf arabs as east african slavers for 200 years…think attitudes change in part of the world…naaaaaaaa.

Please tell us how the need to preserve “German thankfulness” figured into the Allies’ attempts to hammer Nazi Germany into submission.

Remember that Stalin had agents in Iran in the 1940’s trying to create conditions favorable for a Communist takeover. Troops from the U.K., India and the Soviet Union occupied much of Iran after 1941 to prevent the Nazi-sympathies of the first Reza Shah Pahlavi letting Iranian oil supply the Axis war effort. Soviet troops did not withdraw until a couple of years after WWII.

It was primarily because the bumbling and naive Mossadegh first nationalized (”confiscated”) the oil industry that British pounds had developed from nothing, then flirted with communists. Yes, US and British intelligence services helped topple his administration and install the second Reza Shah Pahlavi.

Then THAT Bastard set about democratizing and Westernizing the place. Allowing women to wear Western clothing, attend college, shop in the streets without male supervision, and VOTE IN ELECTIONS and Testify in COURT. He shamelessly took to distributing land to peasants to OWN and Cultivate without the consent of the imams.

No wonder the mullahs hated him.

Anyways, my point is that alliances and decisions about who will support whom in all this are not necessarily dependent on what’s going forward this week. There are affinities and resentments that have persisted for fifty generations, that will play out in the current schemes.

The problem is that most of the people in Washington have been raised on the belief that all other people in the world are dispensable. And, all problems are someone else’s. As long as oil continues to flow to the US so we can drive our cars and heat our houses on the cheap, life is grand and the Hell with them.

Is Israel next in line? Consider this anomaly. Emanuel Rahm, Obama’s chief of staff and the main force in his rise to power is an Israeli citizen. His father fought in the early Israeli wars and was one of the founders of Israel. Rahm is a die hard supporter of Israel and has family in Israel. I know this first hand.

So, is the Obama administration abandoning Israel? Or, are some people simply acting paranoid? Or, is there a diabolical game being played that is yet to become clear?

That question aside. Israel’s conflict predates the Iranian revolution, Hizbullah and Hamas. Why does anyone believe that Israel’s situation will be different if they cease to exist?

In fact all three along with other fanatics were either supported or tolerated as they were seen as an antithesis to the nationalistic movements that were fighting Israel. Hamas was considered an easier target to villainize and eliminate than the PLO and thus allowed to overcome it. Now we have a bigger problem. The Palestinians got nothing before Hamas, why should they believe they will get anything after?

Hizbullah became a force because the US struck a deal with Syria and Saudi Arabia that gave Syria full control over Lebanon 20 years. All arguments regarding the growth of Hizbullah were discounted. It was treated as a Lebanese problem and “who cares?” Now it is everyone’s problem.

The Saudis and Egyptians have no more love for Israel than the Iranians. Sure they will promise support for Israel to strike Iran. What do they have to loose? If Iran folds, they get rid of one menace. If it retaliates successfully, they get rid of another.

Any questions regarding the Arab position?

Eliminating Iran’s military capabilities successfully is near impossible. The Israelis believed they knew everything about Hizbullah in 2006. But, in spite of their extensive intelligence network in the country they were surprised at how much they did not know. After 34 days of massive bombardment and ground invasion, missiles were still being launched at Israel even from behind their lines.

The war with Hamas last December had a similar effect.

These are small areas in close proximity with limited military capabilities and a lot of intelligence gathering.

How much does Israel really know about Iran’s military facilities?

It is easy to beat one’s chest when one is not in the direct line of fire. But, when you and everyone and everything you care about are about to go up in a mushroom cloud, the calculations become a little more complicated.

Israel will have to be absolutely sure it can actually eliminate Iran’s ability to retaliate, even without nukes. Chemical and Biological warheads will wipe Israel out also. Death is death, regardless of the method.

The idea of crippling Iran all together and allowing the moderates to rise to power is a non-starter. Sure the Mullah’s may fall, but will the other Iranians whose livelihoods have just been destroyed really thank Israel? Will the world, which goes into extended crisis as the Gulf oil stops flowing, be thanking Israel?

I hope the Israelis prove to be survivors and not succumb to the Samson syndrome.

Cadmus

Ha!