Tuesday, March 24, 2015
From: Gary L. Bauer
Verbal Rockets Fired At Israel Again
After Benjamin Netanyahu’s reelection last week, I warned readers not to expect an end to the left-wing attacks on the nation of Israel. It is increasingly obvious that this administration intends to isolate our ally, even though by doing so they know Israel’s and America’s enemies will be emboldened.
White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough addressed the left-wing, George Soros funded group J Street yesterday. Channeling the rhetoric of Israel’s Islamist enemies, McDonough demanded that Israel surrender Judea and Samaria, saying, “An occupation that has lasted almost 50 years must end.”
Israel is not occupying anything, any more than we are “occupying” Texas. Israel, under intense pressure, withdrew from Gaza ten years ago. The territory quickly became a launching pad for rocket attacks on Israeli civilians.
Just a few months ago, Israel discovered intricate tunnels dug from Gaza deep into Israel — tunnels that were intended for a surprise attack on Israeli communities in which thousands likely would have perished.
Senator Lindsey Graham took to the Senate floor to blast McDonough’s remarks. “The language used by the chief of staff of the president of the United States is exactly what Hamas uses,” Graham said. “Please watch your language. . . . You’re making everything worse, and now you’ve added fuel to the fire.”
But Obama certainly knows that his public isolation of Israel could very well lead to Israel’s enemies striking again. Hezbollah is building its own tunnel network and Iranian officers are now directing troops near Israel’s borders.
What Is Obama Hiding?
Now the Obama Administration is accusing Israel of espionage. The Wall Street Journal reports that senior Obama Administration officials say Israel was “spying” on the Iranian nuclear talks. But the real offense was that Israel reportedly dared to share the information with member of Congress.
“It is one thing for the U.S. and Israel to spy on each other. It is another thing for Israel to steal U.S. secrets and play them back to U.S. legislators,” a senior U.S. official claimed. And just what are the secrets that Israel allegedly stole? How badly Obama was caving in to Iranian demands.
A senior Israeli official called the accusation “utterly false,” adding that it was “clearly intended to undermine” relations between Israel and the United States.
Here’s what you need to know: Israeli officials told the Wall Street Journal that they were not spying on American diplomats but “received their information through other means, including close surveillance of Iranian leaders.” Moreover, “U.S. intelligence agencies helped the Israelis build a system to listen in on high-level Iranian communications.”
The Journal also reported that other European nations “particularly the French, have been more transparent with Israel about the closed-door discussions.”
But let’s assume for the sake of argument that Israel was collecting intelligence on the nuclear negotiations. If Iran gets a nuclear weapon, it is of far greater concern to Israel than the U.S. as Iran’s leaders routinely vow to annihilate the Jewish state.
Ponder this too: Israel is not only being accused of spying on the U.S., it is being accused of giving the information to one of our three branches of our government. Israel’s alleged sin is not sharing the information with America’s enemy, but sharing it with the branch of government that is supposed to ratify foreign agreements.
Boehner Baffled; Dems Deny
News of the spying allegations against Israel caught members of Congress by surprise. House Speaker John Boehner said he was “shocked” and “baffled” by the charge, telling reporters, “There was no information revealed to me whatsoever.”
Senator Bob Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said, “I haven’t had any of them coming up and talking with me about where the deal is. . . . I kind of felt left out.”
Corker suggested this was all White House spin to further undermine Israel, telling reporters, “I think you all understand what’s happening here. You understand who’s pushing this out.”
Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA), chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said Israeli officials “never” spoke to members of his committee. “We don’t know anything about it,” Nunes said.
It’s not just Republicans who are rallying to Israel’s defense. Senators Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), the ranking Democrats on the Foreign Relations and Intelligence committees, both denied the allegations. Feinstein told reporters, “All I know is what I read in this morning’s newspaper.”
The White House’s hatchet job appears to be falling apart. Someone should be fired.
Yemen Success — Not So Much
Six months ago, President Obama addressed the nation to outline his strategy for confronting ISIS. During his remarks, he suggested his strategy would be similar to “one that we have successfully pursued in Yemen . . . for years.”
So, how’s that Yemeni model working out these days? In the past 48 hours, the United States and Great Britain have evacuated virtually all personnel, including counter terrorism operatives, from the country.
Once a key ally in the war against Al Qaeda, the Yemenis are now begging for foreign military intervention — not from the U.S., but from neighboring Sunni Arab nations like Saudi Arabia in order to defeat Iranian backed rebels.
The headlines speak for themselves:
“U.S. Counterterrorism Strategy In Yemen Collapses Amid Chaos” — Washington Times
“Out Of Yemen, U.S. Is Hobbled In Terror Fight” — New York Times
“Yemen Descends Into Chaos As Foreign Minister Seeks Help From Neighbors,” — National Public Radio
“Yemen Is Latest In String of Victories for Iran,” — USA Today
Change & Obamacare
The latest CNN poll has some potentially bad news for Hillary Clinton. Rather than asking respondents about specific candidates, pollsters asked them to consider certain qualities they’d like to see in a candidate. Here’s what they found:
- 59% of Americans prefer a candidate with executive experience (a governor) rather than a legislator.
- 57% want the next president to “change most of the policies of the Obama Administration.” Even 22% of Democrats are looking for a change.This CNN poll is the just the latest in a string of recent surveys showing that voters want change. That could be difficult for a former Obama cabinet secretary to demonstrate to voters.Speaking of polls and change, our friends at the Weekly Standard have noted that since Obama’s second term began there have been 200 polls testing the popularity of Obamacare. The result: Obamacare is 0-200 with the American people.
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