Sooner or later “present” isn’t going to be an option anymore. As our president-elect and his entourage recover from a power outage, there are signs of a growing conflagration in the Middle East. Will Obama break with 60 years of US foreign policy or will he continue our longstanding support of Israel?
Administrative appointments and nominees thus far have been a mixed bag. Rahm Emmanuel, a strong supporter of Israel, has been named as Chief of Staff. At the same time, Gen. Jim Jones, an outspoken critic of our Israel policy, has been named Obama’s National Security Advisor.
On the one hand, Emmanuel has been criticized roundly for his participation in the Oslo accords, which has arguably been one of the causes of the current conflict, while on the other, Jones has always been anti-Israel. Jones’ latest plan would consist of Israeli settlers living under a foreign occupation force, i.e. NATO.
Will the influence of Rashid Khalidi and Bill Ayers win out? Will a rumored Saudi-paid education and a Muslim background weigh on our foreign policy? Lots of us want to know.
The way things are progressing, it’s going to be very interesting to see where the Obama administration comes down on such basic issues as Israel defending itself against pervasive threats such as rockets from Gaza. One presumes that when the lights come on in Hawaii we may finally know more.
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