Robert Kagan writes today: This administration pays lip-service to “multilateralism,” but it is a multilateralism of accommodating autocratic rivals, not of solidifying relations with longtime democratic allies. Sarah Palin said it first, though it took her fewer words to do it, while primarily stressing the “reset button on our relations with Israel,” using “world’s worst [...] [...more]
–bumped– Mr. Hiatt’s love note op-ed today trying to bolster Prime Minister Netanyahu is one for the books. Coming just before the AIPCAC conference, it continues the drum beat from the elite right who refuse to accept that the Israeli settlement issue is a major challenge to Pres. Obama and his entire administration as he endeavors to [...] [...more]
Sources in the Prime Minister’s Office said the crisis appeared to be orchestrated by the U.S. administration, as Netanyahu apologized to U.S. Vice President Biden and believed that the crisis was behind the two allies. – Haaretz Prime Minister Netanyahu seems to want to continue to tweak their friend. But the notion that we orchestrated the [...] [...more]
–bumped– Secretary Clinton also spoke this morning with Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu to reiterate the United States’ strong objections to Tuesday’s announcement, not just in terms of timing, but also in its substance; to make clear that the United States considers the announcement a deeply negative signal about Israel’s approach to the bilateral relationship – and [...] [...more]
After running a presidential campaign that Lois Romano today called a “notoriously insular and unhappy, managing a group of egos and backstabbers whose dysfunction may have cost her the White House,” many wondered what would be the reviews on Sect. Hillary Clinton as steward of the State Department. The haters now love her, because she’s off [...] [...more]
–updated– Having been removed in favor of Israeli nationalist Jews, members of the Palestinian Ghawi family have been sheltering this winter in a tent on the sidewalk opposite their home of more than five decades in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah. Other people, including many Israelis, have been taking part in a weekly protest [...] [...more]
BREAKING update..: “I condemn the decision by the government of Israel to advance planning for new housing units in East Jerusalem. The substance and timing of the announcement, particularly with the launching of proximity talks, is precisely the kind of step that undermines the trust we need right now and runs counter to the constructive discussions [...] [...more]
–updated below– Well, if you wanted to give Sarah Palin’s bomb, bomb, bomb Iran team a freebie, the new Vote Vets ad is it. However, it’s supposed to be about Congress getting us off oil and on to clean energy in order to keep us out of real life energy wars. Instead it serves up [...] [...more]
Consider this a free for all. You pick the topic. One bit of news from Salon’s Mike Madden is that Rep. Raúl Grijalva may vote “no” on health care. It’s just not a given that Obama can get this through at this point. Again, it’s a bad bill. Is it better than nothing? [...] [...more]
Sarah Palin has started quite a conversation. Riffing off of a Daniel Pipes column, though it was actually a mis-read of Patrick J. Buchanan’s article at Townhall, Palin on Iran has had its desired outcome. Now, I’ve already written about this, including Dick Cheney’s shot at Sarah, but Palin’s Iran comments have brought a [...] [...more]
–important update below– The killers had lain in wait for al-Mabhouh, whom Hamas admits was involved in the killing of two Israeli soldiers in 1989, since the previous night. Flying in from Paris, Frankfurt, Rome and Zurich, the team of ten men and one woman arrived within three hours of each other. The alleged mastermind of [...] [...more]
Joe the Plumber doesn’t like Sarah Palin anymore. Since the Tea Party blast directed at Palin, this is the second greatest news she’s gotten in a while. Having secured her outsider status, getting a little incoming from the right is not so bad for Sarah. As the attention on the former governor continues to rise, [...] [...more]
“I think all the perspective candidates out there have a lot of work to do if they’re going to persuade the majority of Americans that they’re ready to take on the world’s toughest job.” – Dick Cheney, former vice president on “This Week” (see video below) That’s the Republicans’ biggest challenge, but especially for Sarah Palin, [...] [...more]
This would authorize the president to deny visas and freeze economic assets for people in Iran who are responsible for the kind of brutality that we’re seeing on these videos,” Lieberman said during an appearance on MSNBC. – The Hill Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy On the 31st anniversary of [...] [...more]
Some news that’s surfacing slowly is Iran’s new bluster on refining higher grade uranium. Russia and Israel seem to be talking the same language, while China still isn’t willing to sign on to harsh sanctions, something SecDef Gates is promising will come sooner rather than later. Even as it will take some time to reconfigure [...] [...more]
