American Middle East Policy
Stop Blaming Israel And America For Fayyad’s Fall
This column was originally published in The Daily Beast.
Popular as he was in international aid circles and New York Times (and Daily Beast) op-eds—and even among Israelis—Fayyad had no democratic Palestinian constituency to speak of. As Archie Bunker once said of then-President Gerald Ford, “He’s doing a great job for a guy nobody voted for.”
Who lost Salam Fayyad? The resignation-dismissal of the respected Palestinian Prime Minister has provoked plenty of finger-pointing. Continue reading
Abe interviewed on The John Batchelor Show, April 18, 2013
Abe was interviewed on the John Batchelor Show about the resignation of Salam Fayyad, plus Abe’s recent column on John Kerry’s Mideast diplomatic missteps.
Kerry Squanders Obama’s Good Work In Israel
This piece was originally published in The Daily Beast.
President Obama said all the right things in his Middle East visit; John Kerry has quickly undone his good work. Continue reading
Abe interviewed on The Andrea Tantaros Show, March 19, 2013
Abe was interviewed on The Andrea Tantoros Show, March 19, 2013. Andrea interviewed Abe about the impact of President Obama’s visit to Israel, plus Abe’s recent column on Foreign Policy Neocons, Realists and Surrealists.
Neocons, Realists…Now Meet Obama’s Foreign Policy Surrealists
This column was originally published in The Times of Israel.
How else does one describe Kerry, Brennan and Hagel, who so breezily substitute a wishful alternate reality for the obvious, menacing threats to America and the West? Foreign policy is easy once one imagines away the threats. Unfortunately, these surrealists are taking charge of foreign policy and defense of America, not of Fantasy Island.
For some time, American foreign policy has been dominated by two camps. The neoconservatives advocate an idealistic, assertive promotion of liberty, democracy and American interests, including through military means. They are opposed by the self-described “realists” who advocate a pragmatic, realpolitik approach, focusing on power and material considerations.
The realists criticize the neocons for dreaming too big and overextending American power. The neocons criticize the realists for being amoral, disloyal to allies and Machiavellian. Both see the dangers facing America and the world with clear vision; they disagree in their approach to addressing those challenges.
So, where on the spectrum does one place President Obama’s new foreign policy team? Continue reading
John Kerry: ‘Perfect choice’ for whom?
This column was originally published in the Jerusalem Post.
From his radical past to his disdain for America’s leveraging its power to promote its values, from undermining American allies to appeasing America’s opponents, and from his terrible judgment to his inability to assess threats to the Western world, Kerry represents everything already wrong with the Obama administration’s inept foreign policy, where American influence wanes while radical anti-American forces flourish. Continue reading
‘Israeli-occupied’ no more: new Congress takes a left Turn
This column was originally published in the Jerusalem Post.
The 113th Congress to be sworn in this January is materially more left-leaning and materially less pro-Israel than the outgoing 112th.
Especially on the Democrats’ side.
For those of us in the pro-Israel camp who were disappointed by the reelection of President Barack Obama, there’s more bad news. Continue reading
Romney Wins in a Landslide (at Least in Israel): What it Means
On the election map, the State of Israel is not just blue and white; it is solidly red.
The Presidential election results are in. Well, at least the votes from Americans in Israel. Not one to keep readers in suspense, I’ll reveal the most important numbers up front: Gov. Mitt Romney received 85%–85%!–of the vote; President Obama managed only 14.3%. This, according to exit polling just released by iVoteIsrael, the non-partisan group promoting and facilitating voting by U.S. citizens currently in Israel. Their statistics reveal some fascinating results. More importantly, these results have implications for the outcome of next week’s election. (Again, not to keep you in suspense: those implications favor the Republicans.) Continue reading
From Under the Bus: A Response to Efraim Halevy and the NYTimes
This column was originally published in The Times of Israel
Although President Obama has his own record — and what a record it is — regarding Israel, Halvey has nary a word to say about it. Furthermore, Governor Mitt Romney has a sterling record of support for Israel, and a staunchly pro-Israel foreign policy team; yet Halevy deems this unworthy of comment. What kind of analysis of the election ignores entirely any analysis of the actual candidates or their records?
Efraim Halevy, the former director of Israel’s Mossad, has penned a most peculiar column published in The New York Times. Halevy maintains that “no Democratic president has ever strong-armed Israel on any key national security issue,” and that Republican presidents were the ones who have thrown Israel “under the bus.”
Halevy used to be a serious man. But his unserious analysis is as incomplete as it is irrelevant. In fact, it amounts to historical malpractice. Continue reading
Another country heard from: Abe Katsman weighs in 