Looking Back At The Middle East Advice Obama Has Ignored

Yesterday, I blogged that Obama met with radical anti-Israel media people for advice on Israel--including Peter Beinart, New Yorker‘s David Remnick and Time magazine’s Joe Klein.

Up to that point, the main media people Obama had been looking to for advice were Thomas Friedman and Fareed Zakaria.

But maybe what really stands out is not the anti-Israel advisers that Obama is resorting to, but rather the expert advice that Obama has ignored.

Back in February, 2009, Voice of America reported Experts Dampen Expectations of Israeli-Palestinian Peace Deal, and if you take a look at the advice offered--it was right on the money. Looking back, these people were right and Obama did exactly what they advised him not to do.

The Middle East Media Sampler 5/11/2012: Obama's New Favorite Middle East Experts

From DG:

1) Yesterday's news

Yesterday, I mocked Thomas Friedman and Fareed Zakaria, who were once reported to be President Obama's favorite Middle East experts. Apparently though, Friedman and Zakaria are being supplanted. Dylan Byers reports in Politico, Obama courts new foreign policy crowd:

Shortly after announcing his newfound support for the legalization of gay marriage yesterday, President Barack Obama walked into an off-the-record foreign policy meeting with nine editors and columnists to discuss Afghanistan, Israel, NATO and the forthcoming G8 Summit at Camp David, sources present at the meeting tell me.

Obama Updates His Echo Chamber Of Anti-Israel Advisors

At night in the family residence, an adviser said, Mr. Obama often surfs the blogs of experts on Arab affairs or regional news sites to get a local flavor for events. He has sounded out prominent journalists like Fareed Zakaria of Time magazine and CNN and Thomas L. Friedman, a columnist at The New York Times, regarding their visits to the region. “He is searching for a way to pull back and weave a larger picture,” Mr. Zakaria said.
Obama Seeks Reset in Arab World, New York Times, May 11, 2012


What a difference a year makes.

Now it looks like Obama is pulling even further back to get a perspective on Israel--back, and to the left.