Obama’s Israel Problem (Joshua Frank)

[Tace]

By Joshua Frank -- World News Trust

March 16, 2007 -- Sen. Barack Obama isn’t quite sure how he feels about the lopsided situation between Israeland Palestine.

Less than two weeks after Obama gloated to AIPAC about his love for Israel, he unexpectedly admitted the truth while campaigning in Iowa recently. “obody is suffering more than the Palestinian people ...” said Obama, “the Israel government must make difficult concessions for the peace process to restart ...” The truth hurts indeed, and Obama has been feeling the wrath of the pro-Israel activists since his statement last week.

Nonetheless, Obama shouldn’t be trusted on the issue. While Rep. Dennis Kucinich hired avid pro-Palestine advocate Noura Erakat to sit on the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Obama has been backpedaling -- assuring AIPAC and others that he is unwavering in his support for Israel’s continued bullying of Iran and occupation of Palestine.

“ is a genuine threat” to the United States and Israel, expressed Obama at a forum sponsored by AIPAC on March 12 in Washington D.C., only one day after his lucid remarks in Iowa. At the event Obama also reiterated that he would not rule out the use of force in disarming Iran, a position shared by the other leading Democratic presidential contenders, Hillary Clinton and John Edwards.

Earlier this month, on March 2, Obama spoke at an AIPAC Policy Forum in Chicago where he clearly laid out his full stance on Israel, promising he would not alter the U.S./Israeli relationship. “e must preserve our total commitment to our unique defense relationship with Israel by fully funding military assistance and continuing work on the Arrow and related missile defense programs,” he said. “This would help Israel maintain its military edge and deter and repel attacks from as far as Tehran and as close as Gaza.”

So while Obama admits that Palestinians suffer more than Israelis, he still won’t do a damn thing to balance out the asymmetrical relationship. In fact, Obama has made it clear that U.S. tax payers will continue to foot the bill for Israel’s ever-growing arsenal of weapons and missiles if he is indeed elected president in 2008.

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[MLFerrell]

1. To anyone more well-versed in these matters than I, tell me...

Why isn't AIPAC required to register as an agent of a foreign government?

Obama seems to be torn between standing for what's right and needing AIPAC's support to seemingly have a viable bid for the White House.

Do the right thing, Barack. Israel is not America, no matter how much certain agents provacateurs would like to conflate the two.

[leveymg]

2. At least he's torn about it, like most Americans

I can't see how its possible for any major candidate to not make the usual noises about "all options on the table", even if they would never actually go to war with Iran, nuclear program or not.

These homilies are just so much empty rhetoric.