Comments on: Chafee Chides Obama on Gaza: Brown Bag (IV)

By: wellbasically

wellbasically — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 02:51:39 +0000

Chafee was right that Obama won because of the Iraq War.

(Unfortunately Obama believes he won because of economics, and is working hard to fail, while he ignores the promise to get out of Iraq.)

On Israel/Palestine, one solution may be for the USA to involve both sides in a supranational body like NATO, so that being an Israeli or being a Palestinian starts to lose some meaning.

By: potter

potter — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 12:58:00 +0000

I don’t think it was Obama’s place to say anything about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict prior to taking office. After that he did say a few things that seemed to be right on the mark. I think he has to make a major speech about a change in policy that would bring us to a more neutral position. A pro-Israel policy will have to also be a pro-Palestinian policy. The veil of illusion should be lifted about that- that one side can win while the other side loses. Obama has enough awareness to come to this conclusion. I hope he acts on it.

By: hurley

hurley — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 09:40:58 +0000

Another dissenting view in the wake of the “stimulus” debacle:

http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/20208

By: ghostofdali

ghostofdali — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 23:30:41 +0000

Way to go, Linc. Obama’s apologies for Israel’s crimes against humanity is unacceptable. It is clear that the Palestinian people and their political leadership has been weakened to the point where they are absolutely unable to effectively negotiate with such a bloodthirsty neighbor, and so the only deciding factor in what will happen in that region is Israel. In complete disregard for the opinion of most Israelis, virtually all Palestinians, and the majority of the international community, the radical ideology of expansion has turned into national policy, which is coming dangerously close to genocide. As long as the United States insists on giving Israel a blank check, they will take it to the bank. We must make it clear that the continued violence and oppression of the Palestinian people has consequences, and instead of apologizing or justifying these actions by claiming a right of a nation to defend itself, the United States must begin withholding “aid” and support in correlation with these escalations. If there is to be a Palestinian state, we must begin to recognize it immediately and support its right to defend itself against attack from its neighbors.

By: cocopuffs

cocopuffs — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 18:30:33 +0000

Conversation was frustratingly short …

By: nother

nother — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 17:56:43 +0000

Thank you for the interview. Responding to Bob Simon’s report about a two-state solution becoming unimaginable, Mr. Chafee tells us “you can’t have that thought, because then peace is unimaginable.” Well, with all do respect Mr, Chafee, I can have that thought precisely because I choose to use my imagination. And I imagine a one-state solution, as do many others.

“The compromise is one state for all, an “Isratine” that would allow the people in each party to feel that they live in all of the disputed land and they are not deprived of any one part of it.”

“Assimilation is already a fact of life in Israel. There are more than one million Muslim Arabs in Israel; they possess Israeli nationality and take part in political life with the Jews, forming political parties. On the other side, there are Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Israeli factories depend on Palestinian labor, and goods and services are exchanged. This successful assimilation can be a model for Isratine.”

-Muammar Qaddafi

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/22/opinion/22qaddafi.html

The fact that Muammar Qaddafi has become the voice of reason in this affair makes it even more evident to me that the supposed “pragmatic” US policy is way off track.