In The Blogs

Bush's Politicking at Israel's Knesset Neglects His Role in Hamas' Election Win

| Thu May. 15, 2008 10:08 PM PDT

You've likely already read about Bush using the opportunity of his address to Israel's parliament, the Knesset, yesterday to liken all those who would negotiate with "terrorists and radicals" to Nazi appeasers -- and Democrats' swift and outraged response.

Beyond the fact that Bush's own administration has repeatedly offered to negotiate with Tehran should Iran suspend uranium enrichment, and that his top diplomat in Iraq has talked with his Iranian counterparts, as has his former ambassador to Afghanistan, both with the White House blessing, as well as the ongoing negotiations with Pyongyang, Libya, and the Syrian deputy foreign minister's visit to Annapolis; beyond those recent demonstrated exceptions in action to Bush's rhetoric (I guess the word for it is "hypocrisy"): It's also worth pointing out, as several Israeli security officials and political observers have recently done to me here, a bit of recent history Bush neglected to mention at Israel's parliament. That Israel and the Palestinian Authority have chiefly him to thank for Hamas having a degree of political legitimacy it otherwise would not have had. After all, they point out, it was the Bush administration that "twisted the arm" of Israeli and Palestinian leaders against considerable resistance and skepticism on their part to allow the Palestinian militant group Hamas to run in 2006 Palestinian elections that Hamas won -- an outcome to its policy interventions that the Bush administration once again failed to anticipate.

Continues Below

Continued From Above

"It never occurred to them, as in Iraq, that the two goals – regime change and democracy – may not work together," Jerusalem-based writer Gershom Gorenberg recently told me. "That psychology left them open to the idea that on the one hand they can have their cake and eat it too. You could get rid of Arafat, have democratic elections and you will get Republicans." Or so the Bush administration wished.

"And the Israelis completely didn't agree," Gorenberg added.

Such Israeli (and Palestinian moderates') skepticism about the Bush administration's naive and wishful thinking that elections would swiftly topple militants proved correct. "This administration, which says it has a principled approach [of not talking to terrorists], is the very administration that in 2006 twisted the arm of the Israeli government and of the Palestinian authorities and forced them both to accept Hamas as a participant in the elections," former Mossad chief Efraim Halevy told me. "When the result of the election was a surprise, the immediate reaction was, 'Okay, We don't like this result, so we'll change the rules.' ... The administration is inconsistent in its approach."

And equally inconsistent in the case of Lebanon, Halevy adds. "By the way, the Bush administration was inconsistent on elections in Lebanon as well. In the past, there had been a golden rule that you cannot go to the ballot box with a gun in your belt. This rule was waived twice at [the urging of the Bush administration] in the Palestinian case and also waived in the case of Lebanon."

Furthermore, Bush's military commanders and diplomats have been talking with the guys with guns quite a bit in Iraq in recent months -- and arming them too, Halevy notes. "The administration has been flexible and has been able to be flexible, when it came to Iraq," Halevy says. "When they ascertained that the only viable option to turn events in Iraq at least partially if not entirely in a different direction, they went to Anbar province. They contacted people close to Saddam Hussein, who had been acting against the US presence in iraq, who had been carrying out operations against American servicemen and causing American deaths, and they made a deal with them. And they found these warriors in Anbar province very effective and very good and it was an excellent thing to do."

"Why do the rules of Iraq not apply here?" Halevy asks. "If they can be pragmatic in Iraq, why are they ideological in Palestine?"

Good question. Talk about having your cake and eating it too.

I asked one of Israel's premier Iran experts, David Menashri, what he thought of Bush's speech at the Knesset. He said he thought Bush was trying to show solidarity with Israel, where many officials at least publicly describe an Iran led by Ahmadinejad with a nuclear weapon as an existential threat to their country. By using the "Munich" comparison, in other words, Bush was symbolically telling Israel that he shared that view.

Menashri supports the US trying to dialogue with Iran, although he's not optimistic such negotiations would succeed. Halevy also supports talking with Iran, and told me that if the US does so, Israel has to be in some way at the table, since the issues involved so impact Israel's vital national security interests. (Incidentally, Halevy says Israel is indestructable, for a variety of reasons, alluding to its own nuclear arsenal, but not only. He also believes negotiations with Iran can work to persuade it to abandon its nuclear program).

Quite a lot of chutzpah for Bush to characterize the likes of Halevy and his colleagues who have spent decades in the trenches trying to promote their nation's security and who advocate engagement as Nazi appeasers.

Comments

Submitted by researcher (not verified) on Fri May. 16, 2008 12:34 AM PDT.

let the evangels elect your president and what do you get a sociopathic liar that was born with a silver spoon in his mouth.

now he for the most part has his foot in his mouth.

bush and cheney are war criminals.

at least he gave up golf to show respect for our troops. kind of.

yes americans encourage your sons and daughters to go and fight in these wars for profits and be proud americans.

you are helping to line the pockets of the have mores with the blood and suffering of your children.

americans will someday wake up and realize this is a class war.

Submitted by David Model (not verified) on Fri May. 16, 2008 8:11 AM PDT.

The United States actions in the Middle East and elsewhere are entirely consistent with American foreign policy. The United States is obliviously indifferent to the ideology and actions of those it supports. All the matters is whether or not a particular decision or policy will ultimately serve American interests. That is not to say that US policy-makers never fail to recognize the consequences of their actions.
David Model
State of Darkness: US Complicity in Genocide
http://www.stateofdarkness.com

Submitted by Dr. Gurn B. Agrarian (not verified) on Fri May. 16, 2008 9:48 AM PDT.

Excellent post Ms. Rozen and point well made. Bush used his speech to the Israeli Knesset to truly plant his foot squarely in his big mouth. Talk about 'demagogue'. I find it more than curious that Herr Bush didn't mention his grandfather and Prescott's work for the Nazis. Yes, curious indeed. Appeasement or treason, hmmm.

Submitted by Sarah (not verified) on Fri May. 16, 2008 11:45 AM PDT.

Bush should have been in solidarity with the EU. European Union lawmakers urged Israel not to inflict "collective punishment" on Gaza's population, saying its isolation of the territory had failed and its actions were endangering civilians.
They urged Israel to lift a blockade which has cut supplies to the 1.5 million people in Gaza, run by the Islamist group Hamas, and let in aid and essential goods and services.
"The policy of isolation of the Gaza strip has failed at both the political and humanitarian level," the European Parliament said in an adopted resolution.
"The civilian population should be exempt from any military action and any collective punishment." "The European Parliament calls on Israel to cease military actions killing and endangering civilians, and extrajudicial targeted killings," The resolution said.

It is no wonder that Bush feels at home with these criminals that gave him the applause. In the EU, he would be booed.

Say no to Zionism, say no to racism.

Submitted by AlexLawyer (not verified) on Fri May. 16, 2008 8:36 PM PDT.

Bush's chutzpah knows no limits. He equates Barack Obama, with his willingness to possibly negotiate with Hamas and Iran, with Nazi appeasers while himself negotiating with North Korea, part of what he styles "the axis of evil," and giving aid to Pakistan despite its continuing involvement with and funding of groups that carry out terrorist attacks against US troops in Afghanistan and against Indian troops and civilians. But the most damning fact is that his own grandfather, Senator Prescott Bush, was undeniably a supporter of the Nazis and broke US laws in the process. Here is an account from the UK's respected Guardian newspaper:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2004/sep/25/usa.secondworldwar

Submitted by Charles (not verified) on Sun May. 18, 2008 8:08 AM PDT.

Laura, are you implying that our Dear One is responsible for Hamas becoming part of the Government of Palestine through democratic elections(overseeen by Jimmy Carter)?
Why doesn't Hamas endorse their Benefactor? This just goes to show you how stupid the Arabs are.

Submitted by Mustafa (not verified) on Sat Sep. 13, 2008 8:18 AM PDT.

No more wars for Israel. The Jews give 50% of the money that the Democrats receive. With money comes influence, war with Iran for Israel is next.

Submitted by Jakob C. (not verified) on Sun Sep. 28, 2008 1:00 PM PDT.

NEW YORK (EJP)---The head of the World Jewish Congress has expressed outrage at the decision of five Christian groups to host Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at a dinner in New York this week.
The Mennonite Central Committee, the Quaker United Nations Office, the World Council of Churches, Religions for Peace and the American Friends Service Committee are sponsoring a dinner on Thursday with Ahmadinejad as the guest of honor, an event described as "dialogue between religious and political leaders" and a conversation to discuss "building peaceful societies". Lauder added: "These groups, who claim to hold up values such as peace and mutual understanding, make a mockery of themselves by shamelessly providing a cruel dictator and racist with a platform for his invective.
"There is no purpose in dignifying the Iranian president. The World Council of Churches, the Quakers and the other sponsors of the event in New York have a long and distressing record of demonizing Israel. With their bow to Ahmadinejad, they have brazenly chosen a racist dictator as their friend."
The WJC president also criticized the participation at the dinner of the UN General Assembly's current president, the former Nicaraguan foreign minister and Catholic priest Miguel D'Escoto Brockmann.

Submitted by seo (not verified) on Sun Sep. 28, 2008 5:25 PM PDT.

No memorable exchanges. No historic zingers. No gotchas. The much-anticipated first face-off between Barack Obama and John McCain resolved little. Neither candidate strayed from their usual briefing books. The talking points were recycled. McCain blasted Obama for being a rookie in the ways of national security. Obama questioned McCain's judgment, notably his initial support for the Iraq war.

Submitted by maynet (not verified) on Mon Sep. 29, 2008 10:42 AM PDT.

Obama and John McCain resolved little. Neither candidate strayed from their usual briefing books. The talking points were recycled

Submitted by Barbie (not verified) on Thu Oct. 2, 2008 9:06 AM PDT.

BOXER UPDATES: IN COMMEMORATION OF THE 92nd ANNIVERSARY OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

April 18 , 2007

I take this opportunity today to solemnly commemorate the 92nd Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

The Armenian Genocide was the first genocide of the 20th century. From 1915 until 1923, 1.5 million Armenians were brutally killed by the Ottoman Turks in a systematic effort to eradicate the Armenian people. There were unbearable acts of torture; men were separated from their families and murdered; women and children were put on a forced march across the Syrian desert without food or water.

Henry Morgenthau, the U.S. Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire from 1913 to 1916, recalled:

When the Turkish authorities gave the orders for these deportations, they were merely giving the death warrant to a whole race; they understood this well, and, in their conversations with me, they made no particular attempt to conceal the fact...I am confident that the whole history of the human race contains no such horrible episode as this. The great massacres and persecutions of the past seem almost insignificant when compared to the sufferings of the Armenian race in 1915.

Submitted by Adam (not verified) on Thu Oct. 9, 2008 12:12 PM PDT.

H. RES. 106
Calling upon the President to ensure that the foreign policy of the United
States reflects appropriate understanding and sensitivity concerning
issues related to human rights, ethnic cleansing, and genocide documented
in the United States record relating to the Armenian Genocide,
and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JANUARY 30, 2007
Mr. SCHIFF (for himself, Mr. RADANOVICH, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. KNOLLENBERG,
Mr. SHERMAN, and Mr. MCCOTTER) submitted the following resolution;
which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
RESOLUTION
Calling upon the President to ensure that the foreign policy
of the United States reflects appropriate understanding
and sensitivity concerning issues related to human rights,
ethnic cleansing, and genocide documented in the United
States record relating to the Armenian Genocide, and
for other purposes.
1 Resolved,
2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
3 This resolution may be cited as the ''Affirmation of
4 the United States Record on the Armenian Genocide Reso5
lution''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
2 The House of Representatives finds the following:
3 (1) The Armenian Genocide was conceived and
4 carried out by the Ottoman Empire from 1915 to
5 1923, resulting in the deportation of nearly
6 3,000,000 Armenians, of whom 2,500,000 men,
7 women, and children were killed, 500,000 survivors
8 were expelled from their homes, and which succeeded
9 in the elimination of the over 2,500-year presence of
10 Armenians in their historic homeland.
(2) On May 24, 1915, the Allied Powers, Eng12
land, France, and Russia, jointly issued a statement
13 explicitly charging for the first time ever another
14 government of committing ''a crime against human15
ity''.
16 (3) This joint statement stated ''the Allied Gov17
ernments announce publicly to the Sublime Porte
18 that they will hold personally responsible for these
19 crimes all members of the Ottoman Government, as
20 well as those of their agents who are implicated in
21 such massacres''.

Submitted by Hakki (not verified) on Sun Oct. 12, 2008 12:08 PM PDT.

1.3 million American families lost their homes to foreclosure in 2007. Meanwhile, billions of your tax dollars continue to purchase beautiful new homes with subsidized mortgages in Israeli colonies on the West Bank. American needs a new path towards Israel and her neighbors. Vote for Obama.

Submitted by Sohbet (not verified) on Fri Dec. 12, 2008 2:43 AM PST.

1 Resolved,
2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
3 This resolution may be cited as the ''Affirmation of
4 the United States Record on the Armenian Genocide Reso5
lution''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
2 The House of Representatives finds the following:
3 (1) The Armenian Genocide was conceived and
4 carried out by the Ottoman Empire from 1915 to
5 1923, resulting