Obama, Democrats and Foreign Policy

Sen. Eugene McCarthy (D)

When Democrats Became Doves; With the GOP candidates eager to call Obama weak-willed on foreign policy, it's worth looking at how Democrats got stuck with this tag. "It became an opportunity to tar Democrats with the broad brush of weakness and fecklessness on national security (a recurrent GOP political attack since the "Who Lost China" debate of the 1950s). This week came word that the Obama administration is reluctant to apologize for a recent cross-border raid that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers, for fear of being portrayed by Republican presidential contenders as soft."

Enforce Existing Laws Against Iran: Obama’s New Get-Tough Policy Is Weaker than Current Measures    "Yet a close analysis of Treasury’s action demonstrates that the new sanctions regime is far weaker than existing laws and falls short of the moves that members of Congress are demanding. What is needed is not new measures, but better implementation of existing statutes."

Belgium Embassy’s Transcript of Gutman Speech Doesn’t Match Delivered Remarks  "If the difference between the speech and the transcript is at all representative, it helps explain why Israeli reporters left the room insisting that Gutman made a distinction “between traditional anti-Semitism, which should be condemned, and Muslim hatred for Jews, which stems from the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.” "
On Second Thought, Gutman’s Comments Were Unfortunate   It sounds like at least the
[National Jewish Democratic Committee ] agrees that Gutman’s comments were problematic — but apparently not enough so to warrant a resignation.

Jonathan S. Tobin: Has Obama Destroyed the Alliance?   "But as bad as things seem right now, it should be remembered that no matter what Obama, Panetta, Clinton and their underlings may think about Israel, they are keenly aware a full break with Israel is not something they can get away with."



Obama Pushed Early Elections In Egypt Knowing That It Would Likely Lead to Islamist Victory
"After two days of largely peaceful voting marked by high turnouts, U.S. spokesmen termed Egypt’s first vote since Hosni Mubarak’s ouster a success. They focused on the openness of the parliamentary election and not on the Islamic hardliners who may end up the big winners — or what that might mean for U.S. policy or U.S. ally Israel."   Caroline Glick: An ally no more

Yeshiva World News: Gingrich Calls On Obama To Renounce Anti-Israe​l Remarks By Members Of His Administra​tion  "Gingrich notes: “Barack Obama must tell the American people today whether he condemns or condones the deeply wrong statements by his Secretary of Defense and Ambassador to Belgium. We have the right to know whether Secretary Panetta’s harsh criticism of Israel is merely his own personal opinion, or a reflection of the policy of his Commander in Chief." "