Thursday, March 25, 2010

Soccer Dad

Soccer Dad


Petraeus: perry's oh for three

Posted: 25 Mar 2010 04:31 AM PDT

While it's clear that the administration wishes to foster the perception that Israel is a liability to American interests and the anti-Israel crowd is all too happy to feed that, it's not so clear that the source of this perception agrees. The American Spectator asked General Petraeus about his assessment to the Senate Armed Services Committee and he responded. First he dismissed the widely quoted story by Mark Perry: But on Wednesday, Petraeus poured cold water on the controversy, explaining in detail why "all three items...were wrong, frankly." Further: In addition, he explained that the quote that bloggers attributed to...

Biden's knee-slapper

Posted: 25 Mar 2010 04:13 AM PDT

Stand up comedian: Vice President Biden (h/t The Muqata last week): "I just got back from five days in the Middle East," Biden said. "I love to travel, but it's great to be back to a place where a boom in housing construction is actually a good thing," he said. Israel announced during Biden's visit that it had approved construction of 1,600 homes in East Jerusalem, a move which the U.S. called an "insult" due to its timing. (Haaretz) Israelly Cool observed: That's really funny, especially to those who have lost their homes and may stand to lose their homes...

"Ideological and vindictive"

Posted: 25 Mar 2010 04:03 AM PDT

via memeorandum Jackson Diehl, not someone I consider to be pro-Israel, nonetheless acknowledges what the administration is doing: U.S. pressure on Netanyahu will be needed if the peace process ever reaches the point where the genuinely contentious issues, like Palestinian refugees or the exact territorial tradeoffs, are on the table. But instead of waiting for that moment and pushing Netanyahu on a point where he might be vulnerable to domestic challenge, Obama picked a fight over something that virtually all Israelis agree on, and before serious discussions have even begun. As the veteran Middle East analyst Robert Malley put it...

Another diplomatic incident

Posted: 25 Mar 2010 03:06 AM PDT

In the wake of a vote condemning the Turkish genocide of Armenians, Turkey has recalled its ambassador to the United States. The conditions for the ambassador's return? Davutoglu set two conditions for Tan's return: The administration and Congress must show they will refrain from deciding what he called "our history," and the countries "should agree to develop our strategic alliance," he said. Why should we care? As a Muslim NATO member and a close U.S. ally, Turkey is crucial to efforts to stabilize Afghanistan and develop Iraq. President Obama visited the country almost a year ago and has broken a...

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