'May Allah
Protect Us' After Obama's Visit (Al Rai, Jordan)
"America's
game plan in the Middle East is now clear: Whenever there are new plans for
war, Washington and Tel Aviv lift their voices about proceeding with the peace
process. ... Is the ultimate goal to prevent Israel from
striking Iran by offering a new pledge not to pressure Israel on settlements?
Or are we witnessing a new play in which Netanyahu stars in the role of the one
keen on moving toward talks with the Palestinians, so as to mobilize Arabs behind a
plan to attack Iran and its reactors?"
King Abdullah II of Jordan: As revealed in a surprising interview with The Atlantic [below], Abdullah almost wishes he wasn't king of a state in the midst of the turmoil that is today's Middle East. Today, he will be hosting the president of the United States, Barack Obama.
Since President Dwight D. Eisenhower forced Israel to
withdraw its troops from the Sinai and Gaza, which it captured during the 1956 Suez crisis, Arabs have
always been convinced that whoever sits in the White House is the one person who
can make possible war or peace between Arabs and Israelis. This conviction was
strengthened during the Nixon Administration (separating opposing forces in
Sinai and the Golan after the 1973 war), the Carter Administration
(Camp David Accords
between Egypt and Israel), Bush senior (The Madrid Peace
Conference) and Clinton (The Oslo Accord and the Jordan-Israel
Treaty of Peace).
That role of American presidents was turned upside down
during the administration of Bush junior, who wore the armor of war in the
Middle East. His wars weren't limited to Iraq and Afghanistan - as he gave
Sharon the green light to fight a proxy war against the Palestinian people during
their meeting in the White House in 2002, after which he described the Palestinian
resistance as "terrorism."
Arabs, including the Palestinians, couldn't comprehend this change,
and clung to the idea that U.S. presidents would bring them a Palestinian state
and the Golan on a
gold platter. When Obama became president, Arabs found in his distaste for war
and famous speech during his first term at the University of Cairo an alibi
for continuing their reliance on the White House for resolving the Palestinian issue.
But after his first assault on the rigidity and arrogance of Netanyahu and
Israel’s friends in the U.S. Congress, Obama’s back was broken, and he proved to
be no Eisenhower, Carter or Clinton. Rather, he showed himself to be a president
who submits to Israeli pressure and wastes one opportunity after another
regarding a two state solution.
Obama only appeared to show strength regarding settlements
(under the banner of protecting Israeli security). During his term, settlement expansion
spread like a cancer engulfing the very land that is the basis for a two state
solution, turning talk of peace into nothing but a joke. Based on the record of
his policies, we cannot expect anything new from Obama's visit to Tel Aviv and
Ramallah. On the contrary, there are increasing fears that this visit is a chance
to pay Netanyahu and his ruling right-wing gang false testimony that they long
for peace and are willing to proceed with peace talks with the Palestinians -
and that the problem is with Hamas and Abbas!
The other fear is that the purpose of Obama's visit is to rally
Arabs behind a U.S.-Israeli plan to strike Iran and expand the theater of
conflict and war in the region.
America's game plan in the Middle East is now clear: Whenever
there are new plans for war, Washington and Tel Aviv lift their voices about proceeding
with the peace process with the Palestinians.
Posted By Worldmeets.US
Is the ultimate goal of Obama’s visit to prevent Israel from
striking Iran by offering a new pledge not to pressure Israel on settlements?
Or are we witnessing a new play (peace) in which Netanyahu stars in the role of the one
keen on moving toward negotiations with the Palestinians so as to mobilize Arabs
behind a plan to attack Iran and its reactors?
In any case, no one expects any good to come from Obama’s
visit, and we ask Allah to protect us from their plans.
