"Obama's PRO-Israel Record"...(Center for American Progress Report)

[KoKo]

THE PROGRESS REPORT November 12, 2010

by Benjamin Armbruster, George Zornick, Matt Duss, Alex Seitz-Wald, and Tanya Somanader


MIDDLE EAST
Obama's Pro-Israel Record
Earlier this week, Israel announced plans to build more than one thousand new settlement units in occupied East Jerusalem, the first such announcement since a similar move in March during a visit by Vice President Biden led to serious tension between the two governments. Settlements have been a major sticking point in the negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians, with the Palestinians refusing to continue direct talks in the absence of a settlement freeze, and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu refusing to extend a partial moratorium on their construction. President Obama criticized the announcement, saying, "This kind of activity is never helpful when it comes to peace negotiations." Before meeting with Netanyahu in New York on Thursday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called the proposed construction "counterproductive," and said the U.S. was "deeply disappointed" by the announcement. A statement from Netanyahu said Jerusalem was "not a settlement" and there was "no link" between peace talks and settlements. The two leaders had a "marathon" nearly seven hour meeting, after which a joint statement describing "good discussions" that involved "a friendly and productive exchange of views on both sides." Veteran Middle East peace negotiator Aaron David Miller told Politico's Laura Rozen that the long meeting was a good sign. "Six hours means negotiations; that means that they're ironing out differences between the U.S. and Israel on a formula for resumption." Mark Rosenblum of Americans for Peace Nowhere predicted that "There is a new game plan, and there will be a new trade-off to get to a partial moratorium on settlements."

COMMITTED TO ISRAEL'S DEFENSE. The Wall Street Journal reported that "U.S. military aid to Israel has increased markedly this year," an effort that stems from policy directives the White House gave the Pentagon early in Obama's presidency to "deepen and expand the quantity and intensity of cooperation to the fullest extent." Speaking at the Brookings Institution in July, Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs Andrew Shapiro described in detail how the Obama administration is "preserving Israel's qualitative military edge through an unprecedented increase in U.S. security assistance, stepped up security consultations, support for Israel's new Iron Dome defensive system, and other initiatives." President Obama raised the amount of U.S. military aid to Israel, making it the single largest expense of the 2010 foreign aid budget. He also authorized $205 million to enable Israel to complete the Iron Dome. Obama has significantly increased the level of strategic dialogue and the depth of intelligence coordination between the U.S. and Israel, particularly regarding Iran, a key Israeli security concern. According to one Israeli official, that coordination is now "even better than under President Bush."

MUCH MORE OF THIS READ AT:

http://pr.thinkprogress.org/

[classysassy]

1. Defending a bully

will cause the oppressed to rise up against his oppressors and their enablers.

[Behind the Aegis]

3. LOL!

Take it on the road.

[Jim Sagle]

2. Hogwash!