Israel: Ally or Enemy?

By Roger Hedgecock
RogerHedgecock.com

All my life I've admired the determination of Jews worldwide to re-establish a Jewish homeland in Israel and defend it (repeatedly) against the implacable hatred of surrounding Muslim states. I'm not a Jew, but the survival of Israel and, even more, its success as an economy and a democracy has earned my respect and the respect of a vast majority of Americans.

All of my life until now, American administrations since the establishment of Israel in 1948, both Democrat and Republican, have reflected this American respect and admiration and stood by our ally, Israel. Americans have been willing to, in effect, guarantee the survival of Israel.

President Obama appears poised to reverse this position and abandon Israel. This course will lead to war – possibly nuclear war.

Every president since Nixon has sought to further a "peace process" in the Middle East. This has largely been a waste of time for all parties.

To the Israelis, this interminable and fruitless exercise is the price for continuing political and military support from the West and particularly from the U.S. Israel knows it must look "reasonable" and "open to compromise."

To the Muslims, this "process" is a long-term strategy to separate Israel from its allies in the West and leave it vulnerable to defeat and extermination in a repeat of Muslim victory over the Western crusaders 700 years ago.

Obama built on the "two state solution" advocated by the last few American administrations by requiring new concessions from Israel. Not only were Jewish settlements outside the 1967 boundaries of Israel to stop, but even private residential construction in disputed Jerusalem must stop pending the boundaries of a new Palestinian state.

This new demand marked the first time an American administration conceded the Palestinian point that parts of Jerusalem now part of Israel should become incorporated in the new "Palestine."

In fact, Obama is more upset by a Jew building an apartment building in a residential neighborhood in Jerusalem than he is by Iran building an atomic bomb, a bomb the Iranians have promised to use to exterminate Israel.

Iran, says our president, has a right to nuclear power. Obama has not stopped Iran from importing gasoline. Until that sanction is placed on Iran, the constant call for "sanctions" against Iran for its ongoing crash program to produce nuclear weapons will be hollow, and all nations know it. Obama appears deliberately willing to live with the consequences of a nuclear-armed Iran.

The Russians and the Chinese will never allow Iran to be "sanctioned" in any meaningful way. Iranian oil has made China an Iranian ally. Iranian money has made Russia's military factories rich and bought Russian support.

Obama's disgraceful treatment of Prime Minister Netanyahu during Netanyahu's recent visit to Washington was second only to the notorious "no pictures, no joint press conference, and oh, can you exit the White House through the door where we put the household trash?" treatment of the Dalai Lama.

This week's 47-nation conference in Washington, D.C., on nuclear nonproliferation will continue to ignore the fact that China and Russia are the biggest "proliferators" of all. North Korea got nukes and missiles tech from China, which got it in turn from Russia, who also supplied the Indians with same. Pakistan had to have nukes to offset India, and China happily supplied them, too. Chinese nuclear warhead and missile designs show up now in Iran and for a while in a nuclear reactor in Syria – until the Israelis bombed that reactor.

Obama apparently set up Egypt and Turkey to ambush Israel at this conference with the demand that Israel sign the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. It's increasingly apparent that Obama views Israel as more of a problem than Iran.

Netanyahu canceled his participation in the conference, sending a lower level delegation to the conference instead. Obama retaliated by barring U.S. entry visas to all Israeli scientists even remotely connected to the Israel nuclear program.

During this last year the infamous "lottery" visa program allowed citizens of Yemen, Syria, Saudi Arabia, North Korea, Qatar, Libya and Egypt (among other nations) to enter the U.S. legally – but not Israeli scientists. They're barred.

An emboldened nuclear-armed Iran bent on fulfilling an apocalyptic prophecy combined with a cornered and abandoned (and nuclear armed) Israel is not a "peace process." It is a recipe for nuclear war.

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