News Channel. And he he said, 'I believe the Obama administration is
willing to throw Israel under the bus in order to please Muslim
nations.' First of all, President Obama is President of the United
States. He is not the President of Israel. His job is to advance US
strategic interests in the world -- not to advance Israeli strategic
interests in the world.
Where US and Israeli interests coincide,
the Obama administration will work with Israel. For example, confronting
Iran over its nuclear program is seen as being in both the interests
of the United States and Israel. Where US and Israeli interests do not
coincide, the Obama administration cannot be expected to do Israel's
bidding. For example, the Jewish settlements in Jerusalem may be in
Israel's interests, but they are not in the interests of the United
States.
This is an important point. America and Israel's
strategic objectives are not always the same. America's main strategic
objective in the Middle East is energy security. Israel's main strategic
objective in the Middle East is regional dominance. These two
objectives could contravene each other. President Obama believes in
America first, and not in Israel first. Former President George W. Bush
also believed in America first rather than Israel first. And that is why
President Bush vetoed Israel's decision to attack Iran. And that is why
President Obama is not toeing the Israeli line.
America is a
great nation. It is not an extension of Israel. I hope that pundits like
Ed Koch and Alan Dershowitz will one day learn to be more patriotic and
believe in America first (instead of believing in Israel first). Let
the Israelis believe in Israel first. I wonder if Ed Koch would ever
say, 'I believe the Obama administration is willing to throw Iran under
the bus in order to please Israel.' No, he would probably never utter
those words. Not in a million years.
balance America's alliances with Israel and the Arab states. There is no
'throwing Israel under the bus.' It is called pragmatism. International
relations is all about pragmatism, and it has nothing to do with
throwing anyone under the bus. Ed Koch also accused Barack Obama of
'appeasement.' Well... as long as America's economy (along with the
American way of life) is dependent on oil from the Middle East, a little
appeasement may be necessary. And there's little that can be done about
it.
