Arlene Kushner on How Congress Managed To Put Onus For Iran Deal on Critics Instead of on Obama

From Arlene Kushner:
April 19, 2015

The Bottom Line

...on the unanimous vote in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to advance the bill, sponsored by Senator Bob Corker (R-TN), which would give Congress the right to review the deal currently being worked out with Iran.

Yes, as I wrote last week, it is a step in the right direction, as Senators are beginning to insist upon their right to be involved in this critical deal.  But it falls short in a very critical respect.

Jonathan Tobin, editor of Commentary, effectively explains this in “The Reverse Iran Deal Ratification Process” (emphasis added):

“...By treating it as a normal act of legislation, the president will be able to veto the measure. That sets up a veto override effort that will force Iran deal critics to get to 67 votes, a veto-proof majority. If that sounds reasonable to you, remember that in doing so the bill creates what is, in effect, a reverse treaty ratification mechanism. Instead of the president needing a two-thirds majority to enact the most significant foreign treaty the United States has signed in more than a generation, he will need only one-third of the Senate plus one to get his way.

Is Watered Down Corker-Menendez Bill A Concession To Obama Or Victory For Congress? Media Claims Latter

The Israel Project sent out an email today on the messaging battle that is going on between the White House and the Senate over the Obama administration dropping its threat to veto the Corker-Menendez bill, legislation that would boost Congressional oversight over any Iran deal.

Spokesman Josh Earnest made the announcement at yesterday's press briefing, just as the Senate Foreign Relations Committee was convening for what would be a 19-0 vote in favor of the bill. The declaration reversed months of explicit administration threats to veto legislation that would give Congress an expanded voice in Iran negotiations.

The White House spin was that Corker-Menendez had been substantively hollowed out by a morning compromise between Sens. Corker and Cardin, so that had become acceptable. The bills' supporters countered that the core oversight requirements remained intact, and that the administration caved because it knew a veto would be overridden. Corker on Twitter: "The simple fact is that the White House dropped its veto threat because they weren’t going to have the votes to sustain a veto" [1].

The subsequent news cycle did not reflect the White House's messaging:

Obama Middle East Legacy Suffers Three Setbacks In Six Days of Iran Negotiations

While many in the media will generously report about 'an agreement to keep trying to agree,' -- let's face it: this is where the West and Iran were a year ago.

The past 7 days particularly have not been kind to Obama's attempt at a Middle East legacy, as we have been bombarded with 3 major setbacks to an effective deal with Iran:

Iran Won't Allow Verification Of Its Nuclear Sites -- Will Obama Backtrack on Yet Another Condition For A Nuclear Deal?

The Wall Street Journal reports on how Iran may prevent verification of any nuclear deal with the West

Talks over Iran’s nuclear program have hit a stumbling block a week before a key deadline because Tehran has failed to cooperate with a United Nations probe into whether it tried to build atomic weapons in the past, say people close to the negotiations.

The Israel Project has been following this and other developments very closely. In a series of emails it sent out, TIP explained the huge significance of Iran's refusal.

Arlene Kushner on Obama and Iran -- And The Behind The Scenes Politicking Of Abbas's Resolution At The UN

From Arlene Kushner:
December 30, 2014

A Somber View

Very somber, my friends.  The situation in the world is not worrisome – it’s terrifying.  Consider:

In an interview with NPR, President Obama said that Iran could become a “very successful regional power” if it agrees to a nuclear deal.  He said things must move slowly but he wouldn’t entirely rule out the possibility of opening a US embassy in Tehran before his term ran out.

http://www.timesofisrael.com/obama-iran-could-be-a-very-successful-regional-power/

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WHAT?  There is nothing on the table in negotiations with Iran at the moment that is serious enough to prevent Iran’s nuclear advancement. The Iranians – a threat to the world – are running rings around an eager Obama.

Arlene Kushner on Netanyahu Standing Up To US "Chickens***" Pressure

From Arlene Kushner:
October 29, 2014

Standing Tall

The media here in recent days has been full of observations about the growing rift between Israel and the US, or, more accurately, between the Netanyahu and Obama administrations.

There have been, incredibly, some Israeli politicians and commentators centrist-left who point a finger at Netanyahu, saying that he is provoking Obama and that Israel-US tensions are his fault.  They point out that we need America and cannot afford to alienate its chief executive.

Me?  I say, Right on, Bibi!  And I am hardly alone in this response.

Time to cut the umbilical cord with the US – which makes some afraid to alienate a source of “nurturing” – and to do what is best for Israel, unapologetically.

Arlene Kushner on the Damage Obama and Kerry Are Doing To Israel

From Arlene Kushner:
July 28, 2014

How It Is

A true story told last week by Col. Richard Kemp: He was given the opportunity to meet with several of our soldiers, and in one special instance met with a pilot in our air force. This pilot had had 17 missions aborted because civilians were spotted.  “You must be very frustrated,” said Col. Kemp, “going out on missions and being called back so many times.”

“Oh, no, sir” replied the pilot.  “I was glad.  I wouldn’t want it on my conscience that I had killed innocent people.”

Col. Kemp calls our army the most moral in the world.

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It seems as if we stand alone among the nations of the world.  Yes! there are individual people – very good people - with us. Some of them write to me.  Yet we face situations that are not just severely unacceptable, but unbelievable.

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Photo: Will Obama Pressure Palestinian To Return 3 Kidnapped Boys?

Will fact one of the kidnapped boys is an American citizen make a difference?

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Technorati Tag: Israel and Obama and Hamas.

Collapse of Israeli-Palestinian Negotiations Reveals More About US Than Israel or Palestinians

The following by Alexander H. Joffe is reposted here with permission of Middle East Forum:

Why [Israeli-Palestinian] Negotiations Collapsed

by Alexander H. Joffe
The Times of Israel
http://www.meforum.org/3815/israel-palestinian-ngotiations-collapsedMay 3, 2014

Effective foreign policy requires a balance between the predictable and the unpredictable. Alliances require careful maintenance and no surprises while adversarial relationships sometimes require unpredictable responses. It is the unique gift of the Obama administration to have reversed this equation.

The collapse of peace negotiations was wholly predictable and has finally taken place. Efforts are now being made to assign blame and exert pressure on the parties. In a series of off the record interviews with Israeli newspapers, unnamed American officials involved in the negotiations have quite predictably put most of the blame on Israel. Careful reading, however, reveals more about America than it does Israelis or Palestinians.

Human Rights Voices: Obama's Foreign Policy Failures Lead to Disaster at UN

For Immediate Release: March 31, 2014

Contact: info@humanrightsvoices.org Follow us on Twitter

Obama's Foreign Policy Failures Lead to Disaster at UN This article by Anne Bayefsky originally appeared on FOX News. President Obama’s hemorrhaging foreign policy is creating an increasingly embarrassing mess at the United Nations. A four-week session of the U.N.’s top human rights body, the Human Rights Council, ended in Geneva on March 28, 2014, with a series of humiliating defeats for the president’s calling card of indiscriminate engagement. Joining, and legitimizing, a U.N. Human Rights Council with no human rights conditions for membership was one of President Obama’s first foreign policy moves. Hence, the United States was elected to the council in 2009, re-elected in 2013, and currently sits alongside such human rights luminaries as Russia, China and Saudi Arabia. This session took place against the backdrop of Russia’s aggressive takeover of parts of a sovereign country, in gross violation of the human rights of Ukrainians. And yet the Council itself couldn’t manage a peep. A U.S.-backed resolution at the U.N. General Assembly adopted on March 27, 2014, criticized Russia, but failed to take what would have been the truly isolating step of removing Russia from the Council. So what did the Council do while it was in session?

Arlene Kushner on Netanyahu and Obama, Abbas & Putin (Oh My!)

From Arlene Kushner:
March 4, 2014

Tracking an Insane Time

There are few things more insane than Arabs throwing large rocks at cars, and thereby causing lethal injury to children. But this is what I begin with today.

It is a year ago that Adva Biton was driving in her car with other members of her family, including three children, when an Arab terrorist threw a concrete block at them.  It caused Adva to loose control of the car, which rammed into a truck and ended up trapped beneath it.  Other members of the family were moderately injured. But little Adele Biton, then two, was critically injured.  A full year later, she is still unconscious, and sits that way in a wheel chair.  Her family stays with her constantly, and hopes to bring her home, where she will secure all sorts of therapeutic treatment.

The request here is that you pray for Adele Biton. Adele Bat Adva.  Pray for her recovery daily and continue to pray until we learn that, with the help of Heaven, she has regained her life.

Credit: jewsnews

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Prime Minister Netanyahu has not yet addressed the AIPAC Policy Conference as I begin this posting.  But I am eager, nonetheless, to look at what has transpired in the last day, and to share some analysis.

Before going into his lengthy closed-door meeting with President Obama in the White House last night, our prime minister conducted himself with firmness at an opening press conference.  He stood his ground.

Barack Obama meets with Binyamin Netanyahu at the UN in 2012.
Credit: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
Photo not from original post

Obama's Interview: Attacking Israel The Way He Attacks Republicans

The following by Alex Joffe is reposted here with permission of Middle East Forum:

Reading the Obama Interview

by Alexander H. Joffe
The Times of Israel
March 3, 2014

http://www.meforum.org/3781/goldberg-obama-interview

Alexander Joffe

Bloomberg columnist Jeffrey Goldberg's interview with President Obama on the eve of his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu is highly significant, verging on a turning point in US-Israeli relations.

Several points emerge from the interview. First is the implied threat that if current peace negotiations with the Palestinians fail, the US will be unable – read unwilling – to defend Israel. Moreover, it is up to the Palestinians to judge: "If Palestinians come to believe that the possibility of a contiguous sovereign Palestinian state is no longer within reach, then our ability to manage the international fallout is going to be limited."

Declaring "our ability to manage the international fallout is going to be limited" is not accidental; indeed, Obama repeats it twice. Obama's statement that "What we also know is that Israel has become more isolated internationally" is not simply a prediction but a prescription. Similar statements by Secretary of State John Kerry in recent months have given European governments and industry the license to begin quietly exploring ways to boycott Israeli industries and corporations, arguably as part of an American strategy to pressure Israel during negotiations. A statement by the US president will be paradigmatic. This alone is a momentous policy shift.

Arlene Kushner on Obama's Threats on Israel in Preparation for Netanyahu

From Arlene Kushner:
March 3, 2014

“Threats Don’t Scare Israelis”

As a matter of fact, when we are threatened, our spines are stiffened. 

In this instance, I am referring to threats implied by Obama in an interview with Jeffrey Goldberg for Bloomberg View.  It had made news a couple of days ago that he wanted to be “more directly involved” in those so-called “peace negotiations.”  And so here we are, with the president demonstrating his “diplomatic skills”:

"What I do believe is that if you see no peace deal and continued aggressive settlement construction and ... if Palestinians come to believe that the possibility of a contiguous sovereign Palestinian state is no longer within reach, then our ability to manage the international fallout is going to be limited.

“In today’s world, where power is much more diffuse, where the threats that any state or peoples face can come from non-state actors and asymmetrical threats, and where international cooperation is needed in order to deal with those threats, the absence of international goodwill makes you less safe. The condemnation of the international community can translate into a lack of cooperation when it comes to key security interests. It means reduced influence for us, the United States, in issues that are of interest to Israel...

“The window is closing,” he declared, and it’s time for Netanyahu to “seize the moment” with regard to Kerry’s framework agreement.

Read: Obama warns of 'fallout' for Israel if peace effort fails

Arlene Kushner on the Never-ending Farce of Obama's Policy in Syria

From Arlene Kushner:
February 16, 2014

Dealing with Farce

Sometimes, my friends, I take a look at one or another political/diplomatic situation, and I think, “This is just sooo outrageous.  So counter-intuitive in terms of how things ‘should’ be. How do I deal with it?”  Actually, on occasion it occurs to me that if a satirical film were made incorporating some of the events we are witnessing, critics would pan it as too far-fetched.  Such is the world about which I try, however humbly, to provide some perspective. 

Today I want to begin with the horrors to our north in Syria, where, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights [an anti-Assad group], the death toll from the civil war has now exceeded 140,000, including more than 7,500 children and over 5,000 women.

Read: Syria's death toll now exceeds 140,000

Daniel Pipes on Why At Home and Abroad the US is Seen in Decline under Obama

The following by Daniel Pipes is reposted here with permission:

Obama's Hollow Promises Abroad

by Daniel Pipes
The Washington Times
February 12, 2014

http://www.danielpipes.org/14063/obama-hollow-promises-abroad

As U.S. credibility and stature diminish in world affairs, the American president and his secretaries of state and defense engage in eloquent denial. Unfortunately for them, realities trump words, even persuasive ones.

At the World Economic Forum in Davos, "where the water-cooler chatter was about America's waning influence in the Middle East," John Kerry proclaimed himself "perplexed by claims... that somehow America is disengaging from the world." Nothing could be further from the truth, he asserted: "We are entering an era of American diplomatic engagement that is as broad and as deep as any at any time in our history." Likewise, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has called for "a renewed and enhanced era of partnership with our friends and allies."

In this spirit, Obama has made multiple promises to reassure allies.

Why Is an Islamic Cleric Thanking Obama For Waging "Jihad for Allah"?

The following by Raymond Ibrahim is reposted here with permission of Middle East Forum:

Top Islamic Leader Calls on U.S. to Wage 'Jihad for Allah'

by Raymond Ibrahim
FrontPageMagazine.com
January 31, 2014

http://www.meforum.org/3734/qaradawi-us-jihad

Raymond Ibrahim

A video of Dr. Yusuf al-Qaradawi calling on the U.S. government to wage jihad for Allah in Syria, is currently making the rounds on Arabic media and Facebook, to mockery and dismay.

In the recorded speech, Qaradawi—one of the most influential Islamic clerics in the world, spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, author of over 100 books on Muslim doctrine, and head of the International Union of Muslim Scholars—sarcastically thanks the U.S. for supporting the "freedom fighters" in Syria, adding that "Allah willing, your [U.S.] aid will increase."

Yusuf al-Qaradawi (c) draped in a "Free Syria" flag. (Image source: Wikimedia Commons)

Then, while working himself up because the U.S is only providing weapons to the jihadis in Syria, as opposed to directly intervening, Qaradawi declares in frustration: "We want America to take a manly stand—a stand for Allah!"

Arlene Kushner: Obama's Much Vaunted Geneva Agreement Postpones Iran's Nuclear Capacity By One Month

From Arlene Kushner:
January 24, 2014

A "Train Wreck"

I’m been so focused on Israeli issues that I haven’t written about Iran and its nuclear aspirations for a while.  But now it seems very necessary. 

It has been crystal clear to me that Obama – I won’t say was “had” by Iran – but rather that he was willingly permitting himself to be had.  That he went along with a deal that on the face of it was not good and didn’t bargain tough.

But there’s more.  An interim deal of some sort was struck with Iran and now a final deal is supposed to be negotiated.  The first problem here is that the Obama administration refuses to publicly release the details of how that interim agreement – the Joint Plan of Action - is to be implemented.  What is evolving is a picture in which the president has misrepresented to his own public what that Plan of Action includes.  The implications here are huge.

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Anne Bayefsky: What to Expect From Obama in 2014? Remember the Catastrophes of 2013

For Immediate Release: January 1, 2014

Contact: info@humanrightsvoices.org Follow us on Twitter

What to Expect From Obama in 2014? Remember the Catastrophes of 2013 This article by Anne Bayefsky originally appeared on FOX News. 2013 might be called the year of the shape-shifter. President Obama, the leader of the free world, cozied up to Iran, the leading state sponsor of terrorism. Saudi Arabia poured billions into fighting Islamic terrorists in Lebanon and Egypt. Egypt banned Muslim radicals from government. So what does this confusing scene tell us about 2014? Do our expectations need fixing? For starters, Americans expect their president to be committed to democracy.

Senate Democrats Double Down on Bipartisan Iranian Sanctions

Yesterday, The Israel Project noted that Senate Democrats are doubling down on bipartisan sanctions on Iran -- if Iran cheats or avoids efforts to verify it is upholding its end of the agreement:

The Hill reported mid-Sunday that leading Senate Democrats are doubling down on a bipartisan push to impose sanctions on Iran should the Islamic republic either cheat on the terms of the Joint Plan of Action during an upcoming six-month negotiating period or, at the end of that period, refuse to verifiably put its nuclear program beyond use for weaponization.

David P. Goldman on Israeli Settlements -- Ireland's Lesson and A Message To Liberal Jews

The following by David P. Goldman is resposted here with permission of the Middle East Forum:

It's About the Settlements, Stupid

by David P. Goldman
PJ Media
December 17, 2013
http://www.meforum.org/3698/settlements

David P. Goldman

Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria, the misnamed occupied territories, are not the obstacle to peace between Israelis and Palestinians. They are the acid test of peace. To argue that peace is conceivable unless the bulk of the settlements remain in place constitutes stupidity or hypocrisy. Leave aside the issue of whether Jews have the right to live in the historic homeland of the Jewish people. Ignore the fact that the settlers live overwhelmingly on what was waste land and turned into gardens, vineyards, and industries which have uplifted the lives of Palestinian Arabs more than all the aid that has passed through (or rather stuck to) the fingers of the kleptocrats of the PA. Leave aside also Israel's requirement for defensible borders: that is a critical issue but not identical to the continued presence of settlements.

Accepting the settlements is the sine qua non of any viable peace agreement. It does Israel no good to defend Israel's right to exist but to condemn the settlers, as does Alan Dershowitz, not to mention the leaders of liberal Jewish denominations.

I believe in land for peace. That is a tautology: