by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright May 6, 2009
All Rights Reserved.

              When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu comes to Washington to meet President Barack Obama for the first time May 16, he’ll encounter a new public relations facade.  Under former President George W. Bush, Israel could do no wrong, leaving the Arab world, especially the Palestinians, alienated.  Bush watched Palestinians dancing in the streets of Ramallah and Gaza after Sept. 11.  His primary peace partner, the late Yasser Arafat, had a long his history of terrorism, something Bush couldn’t stomach after Sept. 11.  Obama and his Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will try, with a straight face, to convince the Arab world the U.S. plans get tough with Israel.  In reality, only the public statements and outside appearances attempt to reassure the Arab community that the U.S. intends play impartial peace broker.  Domestic and Foreign press misreads U.S. strategy.

            Foreign and domestic journalists already see a change in U.S. foreign policy.  They’ve misread U.S. intentions, signaling to foreign leaders, that the U.S. will press Netanyahu to make painful concessions.  White House and State Department officials know that there can be no negotiated settlement between Israel and Palestine until the Palestinians resolve their divided state.  “A house divided against itself cannot stand,” said President Abraham Lincoln June 15, 1858 winning the Illinois Republican U.S. senate nomination.  Palestinians cannot enter into negotiations with Israel on a future state until they resolve their division, begun when Hamas won parliamentary elections Jan 27, 2006.  Hamas seized Gaza by force June 14, 2007, splitting Palestinians ton two separate entities.  Since then, Hamas has refused to cede power back to Palestinian Authority leader and U.S. ally Mahmoud Abbas.

            Speaking on the same page as Obama and Clinton, National Security Advisor James Jones told a NATO foreign minister in a classified memo that Obama plans to get “forceful” with Israel.  “The new administration will convince Israel to compromise on the Palestinian question,” read the memo.  “We will not push Israel under the wheels of a bus, but we will be more forceful toward Israel than we have been under Bush,” conveying the PR message designed to placate Europeans and Arabs.  Speaking in Washington to the American Israel Public Affairs Committed [AIPAC], Vice President Joe Biden softened his tone.  “Israel has to work for a two-state solution.  You’re not going to like my saying this, but not build more settlements, dismantle existing outposts and allow Palestinians freedom of movement . . . and access to equal opportunity,” said Biden, echoing the White House message.

            When Netanyahu comes to town, all the tough talk will go out the window.  White House officials know the good-cop/bad-cop diplomatic game.  Biden knows that there can be no negotiations until Abbas convinces Gaza’s Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh that he must join the Palestinian Authority.  U.S. officials have no intention of negotiating with Hamas, a recognized terror group.  Hamas has never validated any U.N. resolution accepting Israel’s right to exist or, for that matter, signed onto any U.S.-brokered peace deal with Israel.  Netanyahu knows he can’t negotiate only with Abbas, who controls about 1.5 million Palestinians in the West Bank.   Haniyeh, who takes his orders from Damascus-exiled Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal, is sworn to Israel's destruction.  Mashaal and Haniyeh, who control 1.5 million Palestinians in Gaza, show no interest in compromise.

            Grandstanding with Netanyahu won’t help U.S. or European Union officials resolve the current split between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority.  All the tough talk about Israeli concessions, including Biden’s demand for Israel to halt and dismantle settlements in the West Bank, doesn’t change the basic fact that the U.S. can’t broker a workable peace deal with half the Palestinian people.  Obama will find himself mesmerized by the charismatic MIT graduate Netanyahu, more American, in certain ways, than Israeli.  Before diverting attention to a Mideast peace deal, the White House would be well-advised to spend time dealing with the Iranian question, restraining Netanyahu from unilaterally resolving Iran’s nuclear issue.  U.S. efforts would be best spent helping Abbas and Haniyeh resolve their differences before pressuring Netanyahu to make concessions.

            Mideaast peace-watchers would be well-advised to follow the good-cop/bad-cop diplomacy before leaping to conclusions about changes to U.S. foreign policy.  Obama’s brain-trust won’t let Republicans steal the Israeli issue to rehabilitate a beleaguered Party.  AIPAC knows they had no better friend in the White House than Bush.  Sen. John McCain tried his darndest to pull Jewish votes away from Obama, promising to continue the Bush policy.  While the administration would like the world to believe things are different now, it was no accident that Barack picked former Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.) as his chief of staff, who served in Israel’s civil defense forces during he 1991 Persian Gulf War.  When politicians on both sides of the aisle go to AIPAC, they posture for political support, especially House members required to face reelection every two years.  Obama may talk tough but his loyalties are clear.

  About the Author

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news.  He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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