Preconditions: Why is Obama Placing Them On Israel But Not Iran?

You would think the President of the United States would give pause before engaging Iran. You would think the President of the United States would be wary of a country that has aided insurgents to kill American soldiers in Iraq. You would think the President of the United States would proceed cautiously towards a country that created Hezbollah, a terrorist organization responsible for killing 241 U.S. Marines in Beirut. You would think the President of the United States would be mindful of a country prepared to take our citizens hostage as it did when it seized our embassy in Tehran thirty years ago.

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You would also think the President of the United States would guarantee the security of a stalwart friend and ally like Israel especially given Iran’s efforts to build a nuclear weapon coupled with its apocalyptic threats against the world’s only Jewish state. You would think the President of the United States would implicitly understand that we and Israel have common cause where it concerns Iran, the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism. But such considerations do not matter to this President. As President Obama sat impassively while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was justifying Israel’s existence I sighed with resignation. What can we really expect of a President who is prepared to talk with Iran without precondition but not guarantee Israel’s security without precondition? Yet President Obama has made it quite clear the United States will not lift a finger for Israel unless it brings about a Palestinian state. That is the precondition. Now one can make the case that U.S. support for a Palestinian state began with President Bush. However, President Bush made it clear to the Palestinians that they could have a state or they could have terror but that they could not have both. President Obama has not drawn such a line in the sand. As Michael Goodwin of The New York Daily News noted, “Obama did not even demand that Hamas recognize Israel's right to exist.” 
(nydailynews.com) In other words, the Palestinians can have their cake and eat it too. All things considered President Obama’s position is hardly surprising. Consider his statement last week on Sri Lanka where he placed its democratically elected government on the same moral plane with the Tamil Tigers, which the State Department recognizes as a terrorist organization. ( Youtube) Yet in Obama’s worldview a terrorist organization has the same legitimacy as a country that observes the rule of law. But then again what can one expect of someone who palled around with Bill Ayers? Israel must be envious of Sri Lanka. Its government wisely ignored Obama’s edict and emerged victorious over the Tamil Tigers thus proving that terrorism can be defeated militarily. Of course, Israel is not Sri Lanka. The UN Human Rights Council does not make Sri Lanka a permanent item on its agenda. Hugo Chavez isn’t closing the Sri Lankan Embassy in Caracas. No one is seeking to expunge Sri Lanka from the face of the earth. Alas, the Sri Lankans aren’t Jewish. Israel is hated by the world and Obama knows it. But even with that knowledge how exactly does the creation of a Palestinian state appease Iran? What makes Obama think that a Palestinian state will make Iran will hate Israel any less than it does now? Or does Obama think there will be less of Israel for Iran to wipe off the map? Yet make no mistake. The creation of a Palestinian state will be an enormous coup for President Obama. Should he bring this about he will be forever adored, celebrated, loved in the headquarters of the United Nations, in the halls of academia, in pubs frequented by young socialists and by kafieh clad Palestinians the world over. As if Obama doesn’t receive enough adulation. In the end, Israel will meet President Obama’s precondition. There will be a large ceremony on the White House lawn. Obama might even break out the Greek columns for the occasion. Netanyahu will shake the hands of both Mahmoud Abbas and Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas while Obama wraps Netanyahu’s other arm around his back. Everyone will be smiling. So what will come in the weeks and months that follow Obama’s grand achievement? More rocket attacks into Israel? Will Corporal Shalit remain in captivity with more Israeli soldiers to join him? When Netanyahu complains Obama will lean on him to make more concessions. Dismantle all Jewish settlements. The rocket attacks continue. More soldiers are kidnapped. Obama tells Netanyahu to make yet more concessions. Tear down the security fence. Suicide bombings happen on the streets of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. The White House tells Israel, “More concessions please.” Meanwhile, Iran will have built its bomb and bide their time as when to deploy it. They will simply wait for the right preconditions. Aaron Goldstein was a card carrying member of the socialist New Democratic Party of Canada (NDP). Since 09/11, Aaron has reconsidered his ideological inclinations and has become a Republican. Aaron lives and works in Boston.

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