now both of us have been fair with dave and even chris gave him some support. see there are things to agree on. now will dave agree that obama is playing a positive role here..
Obama is probably changing some minds in the Middle East.
However, I don't find that to be "helpful", for the following reasons:
a) Those who are affected by it are not the people we have a problem with, i.e., the extremists. The extremists are not interested in the Palestinian situation (it actually has NOTHING to do with this extremism).
b) Those who are not affected by it (the extremists and fence-sitters) are MOTIVATED by the perception of weakness when America shows that it is unwilling or unable to defend itself.
c) It is crucial to consider that the people we were fighting, before obama was elected, are followers of Qutb, their bible is his Milestones, and it is totally about America and has nothing to do with the Middle East. Qutb wasn't talking about the ME, he was talking about what he found HERE in the 50s. Whatever you do in the ME, aside from killing these guys, is not going to help. Being "nice" just doesn't matter.
As much criticism as Netanyahu is getting from the Western Liberals, the reality is he understands the hatred. If you've read his books you have no doubt about his understanding of the issues at hand. Israel is in an untenable position and the only way it can have security, at least for right now, is to insure these fanatics don't have the weapons to attack them.
A fighter plane or missile leaving Iran or Syria can be over a target in Israel in a very short period of time. Israel literally doesn't have enough area to be able to have a reasonably defensible perimeter. They have been ruthlessly attacked on multiple occasions, and there is no reason to expect that to change going forward.
The point is the Palestinian issue is totally separate from the fight WE were fighting after 9/11. If Obama can make a difference and bring about improvement in the Pal situation, even if temporary, it is a good thing. But it has no material effect on America.
The claim of a "Cairo Effect" by the liberal media is utterly absurd, ridiculous. But I have no doubt they'll credit Obama with anything that happens there. |
