Obama Middle East Speech: A Big and Revealing Mistake That Nobody Has Noticed

Barry Rubin "There is a small detail at the end of Obama’s big Middle East speech that everyone has overlooked up until now but which shows how inept this administration is at understanding the IsraelI-Palestinian issue and why it continually makes Israel mistrustful."  Barry Rubin is director of the Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) Center and editor of the Middle East Review of International Affairs (MERIA) Journal. His latest books are The Israel-Arab Reader (seventh edition, Viking-Penguin), the paperback edition of The Truth about Syria (Palgrave-Macmillan), and The Long War for Freedom: The Arab Struggle for Democracy in the Middle East


Rewriting Obama’s Speech  "“We made a huge mistake in crucifying my predecessor for being a ‘neocon’ and wanting to bring self-determination to the peoples of the Mideast, particularly the dysfunctional Arab states. It turns out George Bush was right, and I apologize for having acted stupidly in trashing him and his policies...."

Charles Krauthammer;  The news in Obama’s speech  ..."Normal U.S. boilerplate except for one thing: Obama refers to Palestinian borders with Egypt, Jordan and Israel. But the only Palestinian territory bordering Egypt is Gaza. How do you get contiguity with Gaza? Does Obama’s map force Israel to give up a corridor of territory connecting the West Bank and Gaza? This is an old Palestinian demand that would cut Israel in two. Is this simply an oversight? Or a new slicing up of Israel?"

comicallyincorrect.com

The End of the World According to Harold Camping (Updated)

From Ligonier Ministries :   The End of the World According to Harold Camping (Part 1)  "...I first met Camping in the late 1950s. I learned a great deal from him then, and so I find what follows a very sad story. I pray for him that the Lord will deliver him from the serious errors into which he has fallen." W. Robert Godfrey

The End of the World According to Harold Camping (Part 2) "His repeated failures in calculating the end of the world have not led to repentance on his part or any basic revision of his method of interpreting the Bible."

Part 3   "Not surprisingly no Reformed denomination would accept Camping and his congregation on the basis of his revised catechism. At this point he had become schismatic."

Part 4  "Camping’s calculations and allegorical readings eventually led him to a truly heretical conclusion: that the age of the church was over and that all Christians were required to separate themselves from all churches."

Part 5  "Camping’s presentation of God’s mercy is from beginning to end unbiblical and unchristian. He has no Trinity, no cross, no faith alone in Jesus alone, and no assurance. His vision of God and mercy is more Muslim than Christian. If Camping still believes in the Trinity, in Jesus and his cross, and in justification by faith alone, then his recent teaching shows that he is a failure as a teacher of the Gospel and his call to repentance lacks enough content for sinners to find salvation in Jesus."

Colson Center for Biblical Worldview  "What, then, are the characteristics of this age? And how should we as Christians respond to it? The most outstanding feature of our age of lawlessness is its increasing secularity. In his masterful work, A Secular Age, Charles Taylor describes ours as a day in which “God’s presence receded” from the stage of history and events. In His place, “something other than God” has determined the standards and meanings by which everyday life must be lived."

For your research on this subject: Christ’s Olivet Discourse on the End of the Age; Part One "In this discourse, Christ answered their questions concerning the signs of the end of the age and of His second coming. This revelation becomes increasingly vital to understanding the meaning of events that are occurring today. Matthew 24 and 25 present Christ’s discourse on the end of the age, His predictions of the events which lead up to and climax in His second coming to the earth. In addition, Matthew 25:31-46 reveal the events which immediately follow His second advent. A study of these prophecies will help one to understand the headlines of our newspapers today, and major events and trends of our twentieth century."  John F. Walvoord  via Bible.org

Part Two: Prophecies Fulfilled in the Present Age   "Taken as a whole, the opening section of the Olivet Discourse is best interpreted as an enumeration of general signs, evidence of progress of the age, but not clear indications that the end of the age has come. While the modern world increasingly corresponds to these predictions, the specific signs of the end of the age will follow rather than precede the rapture of the church."

 Christ’s Olivet Discourse  on the end times from the Gospel of Matthew.

9 PM, central time and we're still here. Guess we'll go to church tomorrow.

http://townhall.com/political-cartoons/natebeeler

Letter to Ariel Sharon from George W. Bush supporting disengagement plan

Wikisource  "As part of a final peace settlement, Israel must have secure and recognized borders, which should emerge from negotiations between the parties in accordance with UNSC Resolutions 242 and 338. In light of new realities on the ground, including already existing major Israeli population centers, it is unrealistic to expect that the outcome of final status negotiations will be a full and complete return to the armistice lines of 1949, and all previous efforts to negotiate a two-state solution have reached the same conclusion. It is realistic to expect that any final status agreement will only be achieved on the basis of mutually agreed changes that reflect these realities."

http://townhall.com/political-cartoons/natebeeler

U.S. Policy Does Not Seek Israel's Return to the 1967 Borders  By Dr. Dore Gold

The material in this post and here should give you context and background for the post that follows.

Obama's speech on Israel and the Arabs: Credibility Is Obama's Biggest Weakness In Middle East Strategy

James Jay Carafano  "Mr. Obama has promised to negotiate away the Iranian nuclear threat and failed.
'He has promised to negotiate an Israeli-Palestinian peace and failed.
'His 2009 Cairo speech was so vacuous, it promised nothing, so I suppose you could argue he delivered on that one.
'Still, it’s hard to take seriously the words of a leader who has so abjectly failed to make good on previous promises." ....
"The bulk of speech consisted of warmed over promises and calls for more dead-end dialogue. This was an exercise in cheerleading, not leading."  James Jay Carafano is director of the Heritage Foundation’s Allison Center for Foreign Policy Studies

Hold That Tiger  "In giving his speech the president may have done three things, none of which he quite intended. First, he has essentially denounced as evil and misguided, though in a lukewarm fashion, decades of American policy in the Middle East. Second, he has delegitimized Israel, at least within the context of its current borders. Third, he has by implication suggested that the rule of many of his allies is undemocratic and, in consequence, declared himself King of Arabia. He has assumed ultimate responsibility for the political development of the region now. He’s declared it broken. Now he owns it."  Richard Fernandez

Peace and the ‘Right of Return’  "And contrary to initial reports in the Guardian, the Palestine Papers* do not reveal conciliatory Palestinians pitted against inflexible Israelis. For example, whereas Israel is prepared to welcome a small symbolic number of refugees, the PA seeks to preserve an unlimited flow that would, by sheer numbers and deliberate intention, end Israel by turning it into an Arab-majority state.
(*pdf; And contrary to initial reports in the Guardian, the Palestine Papers do not reveal conciliatory Palestinians pitted against inflexible Israelis. For example, whereas Israel is prepared to welcome a small symbolic number of refugees, the PA seeks to preserve an unlimited flow that would, by sheer numbers and deliberate intention, end Israel by turning it into an Arab-majority state.)

America Drowns, But Obama Throws the Mideast Our Life Preserver  "It's the kind of stupid you can only afford with other people's money."

Standing Strong with Israel  "When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits President Barack Obama at the White House today for three hours of meetings, he will likely ask the President a very important question: Do you stand by the long-standing U.S. commitments to Israel’s future as a Jewish state?" Heritage


The Golden Gates (the two enclosed arches on the Eastern Wall)
 were cemented shut centuries ago to prevent the
 prophets from returning to the Temple Mount



Obama Misses Opportunity in “Moment of Opportunity” Middle East Speech



Congressman Allen West on Obama's two-state solution for Israel  ...“Resorting to the pre-1967 borders would mean a full withdrawal by the Israelis from the West Bank and the Jewish neighborhoods of East Jerusalem. Make no mistake, there has always been a Nation of Israel and Jerusalem has been and must always be recognized as its rightful capital."...Via Infidel Blogger's Alliance

Text of the speech by Mr. Obama  by the Council on Foreign Relations.

http://terrellaftermath.com/

Osama and Obama Both Praise "Muslim Spring"

Far Left Israel Hater* Jeffrey Goldberg Attacks Netanyahu For Defending Jewish Homeland  "...Israel depends on the U.S. for its survival, while America, I imagine, would continue to exist even if Israel ceased to exist — I would find myself feeling resentful about the way Netanyahu speaks about our President." *Their words, not mine. 

Obama Gives Israel to Hamas 

• The real Palestinian homeland is now known as Jordan.

• Remember that Yassir Arafat was an Egyptian, not a Palestinian.

• Those we call “Palestinians” are essentially cannon fodder for Arab Countries that want to destroy the State of Israel.



•If Israel is forced back to its 1967 boundaries the country may well become indefensible. Several larger Israeli cities will be in range of rocket fire, and you can bet the ranch that Hamas, Hezbollah or some other anti-Israeli Muslim faction will load up the rocket launchers sooner or later.  Nealz Nuze

The 1949 armistice lines

 Obama’s Strategic Ambiguity On ‘1967 Lines’    

"The dovish Israeli diplomat Abba Eban once referred to Obama’s new proposed border as the “Auschwitz” lines, meaning that they placed Israel in such a vulnerable position–making the country just a few miles wide at one point–that they were a constant temptation to Israel’s enemies.

"Yet was Obama’s proposal really a departure from past U.S. policy? The AP thinks so, as does NPR and the BBC. ...President Bush called for a Palestinian state in 2005 based on the 1949 armistice lines, stating that “changes to the 1949 Armistice lines must be mutually agreed to.” And though Obama referenced 1967 rather than 1949, he used the term “lines,” not “borders.” Via Big Peace.

http://townhall.com/political-cartoons/ericallie

Reflections on Obama's Israel/ Arab speech

 Elliott Abrams on Obama’s Empty Speech "I would feel better about it had it been discussed with the Israelis instead of being dumped on their heads this morning with zero advance notice or warning or explanation, leaving them scrambling to figure out what it all meant. That alone suggests that whatever the “balanced” rhetoric, the administration persists in treating Israel as a problem rather than as an ally. The Israelis, by the way, responded cleverly to the president’s speech: Their statement said, “Prime Minister Netanyahu expects to hear a reaffirmation from President Obama of U.S. commitments made to Israel in 2004, which were overwhelmingly supported by both Houses of Congress.” Remember those posters with a photo of Bush and the caption “Miss me yet?” We know the Israeli answer."

The Jews Will Never Understand Obama is Against Them

conservativeblogscentral

Netanyahu told Obama to take it back. "Equally, the Palestinians, and not just the United States, must recognize Israel as the nation state of the Jewish people, and any peace agreement with them must end all claims against Israel.”"


Goodbye Nation-Building, Hello Nation-Facilitating  King Abdullah of Jordan and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel "came to Washington to hear that Obama had already made up his mind: He is going to push the butcher of Damascus around as much as he possibly can, no matter how bad a short-term impact this might have on Syria's neighbors. He is going to support the restive Syrians, even though he has no way of knowing what the outcome of regime change in Damascus might be." Slate

Obama Abandons Decades of U.S.-Israeli Diplomacy  "In the former case Israel gave up a core claim to ancient Jewish heritage. In the latter case it risked and eventually saw an Iranian proxy occupying Israel’s southern border. Those territorial concessions are functionally irreversible, which is why the US had to provide ironclad assurances in the first place.
"The Obama administration, upon taking office, immediately and with public relish unburdened itself of the Bush assurances. On the issue of borders, the White House refused to commit to ensuring “defensible borders,” instead reverting to vague “secure and recognized borders.” " Omri Ceren

Obama exhorts businesses to hire

http://terrellaftermath.com/

Today's speech: Obama says Palestine must be based in 1967 borders (Updated)

Right wing MKs: Obama is the new Arafat  "Barack Hussein Obama adopted the staged plan for Israel's destruction of Yasser Arafat, and he is trying to force it on our prime minister," said Likud MK Danny Danon. "All that was new in the speech was that he called for Israel to return to 1967 borders without solving the crisis. Netanyahu has only one option: To tell Obama forget about it."  Jerusalem Post

From Drudge
Yahoo News  "In a speech outlining U.S. policy in the Middle East and North Africa, Obama on Thursday sided with the Palestinians' opening position a day ahead of a visit to Washington by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu is vehemently opposed to referring to the 1967 borders."

Jewish Donors Warn Obama on Israel  "The White House and Israeli officials disputed that characterization. But the incident left a lasting impression. "It was a snub," said former New York Mayor Ed Koch, who campaigned for Mr. Obama in 2008. "My feeling was that the president was hostile to Israel." "

Caroline Glick from May 13; Obama's newest ambush  "It is hard to believe, but it appears that in the wake of the Palestinian unity deal that brings Hamas, the genocidal, al-Qaida-aligned, local franchise of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, into a partnership with Fatah, US President Barack Obama has decided to open a new round of pressure on Israel to give away its land and national rights to the Palestinians."

From Jihad Watch  "Instead, in country after country pro-Sharia Islamic supremacists seem to be gaining the upper hand, just as I predicted.
"Obama did not speak about that at all.
"More on this speech asap."

Obama’s Speech to Islamic World Live Blog… "12:10 pm: Pant Suits kicks things off by gushing over Obama’s “new approach and blueprint” to foreign policy.

12:16 pm: Obama spikes the Bin Laden football.
– Hails Tunisian man who set himself on fire.


http://fawstin.blogspot.com/



– Compares Arab uprisings to Boston Tea Party and Rosa Parks. ....

"It’s over, the Israelis are going to be livid.

"One last update, Fox News is calling Obama’s demands Israel withdraw to the 1967 borders a “bombshell.”" Weasel Zippers

 Do Palestinian Refugees Have a Right to Return to Israel?   No two-state solution for Israel is possible without Palestinians having a right to return to their former homes. This would mean the end of Israel. Since Obama's speech did not mention Right of Return, his proposals are a non-starter and likely just for home comsumption and reelection. As Rush Limbaugh said, our foreign policy is based on Obama's reelection hopes. The man as a disaster for our nation, for Israel and for the Middle East; he is contemptible but a is prototype of what the Democrat Party has become.

NLRB Comes to Big Labor’s Defense

Heritage  "It’s hard to imagine Uncle Sam telling Walt Disney where to make movies or McDonald’s how many hamburgers to make, but if you take a look at the case of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) versus Boeing, you’ll see that the federal government is trying to do just that: dictate where and how private industry may do business. And it’s doing so to bolster one of President Barack Obama’s favorite special interests—labor unions."

A watchdog bites  "THE factory squats on 610,000 square feet of land in North Charleston, South Carolina, and represents an investment of over $1 billion. It is scheduled to begin producing aeroplanes in July—Boeing’s 787 Dreamliners, 835 of which have already been ordered for around $162 billion. It will employ thousands of workers: good news in a state where unemployment hovers around 10%. Unless, that is, the federal government shuts it down."

International Association of Machinists sends marching orders to its membership
This previous post in the Tunnel Wall begins to be appropriate now. Read the letter to the IAM membership.

NLRB vs. Boeing – Tyranny vs. Freedom  "One of the shameful hallmarks of a dictatorship is the restriction of movement — telling citizens or groups they cannot travel or relocate freely.
"We are now witnessing a shocking example of that dictatorial practice at the hands of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which is insisting that a major U.S. employer may not move some of its operations from one state to another because to do so might somehow violate workers’ rights."  Michael Reagan.

http://townhall.com/political-cartoons/ericallie

Does Anyone in the GOP Want to Beat Obama?

Big Government   "Doesn’t anyone want to beat Obama? Who’s left? Tim Pawlenty and Mitch Daniels? Two boring middle-aged white guys with the charisma of Al Gore? That’s the best the GOP has? Watching wet paint dry is more exciting, than watching Pawlenty or Daniels deliver a speech. Sorry, boys, but wet paint drying isn’t going to defeat Obama. Not if he has his teleprompter working properly.
"Yes others could yet become the darkhorse for the GOP nomination- Michele Bachmann, Herman Cain, Gary Johnson, perhaps even Sarah Palin.
"But someone in the GOP had better hope that Chris Christie is having a change of heart."
I doubt that many who love Gov Christie know what all his policies would be or if we would like his way of governing.  I suggest what we love about Chris Christie is his way of standing up to those who challenge him; we  relish the vision of him confronting the likes of David Gregory and other NBC types who used to verbally bully President Bush. Other candidates may be preferable for us, but we want a candidate who is as angry as we are and who doesn't speak in focus-group approved, politically-correct platitudes.
Give us a candidate who has that "fire-in-the-belly anger at what liberals are doing and plan to do to this nation.

Focus Is on Obama as Tensions Soar Across Mideast

New York Times   "Mr. Obama, who is set to address Americans — and, more significantly, Muslims around the world — from the State Department on Thursday morning, may yet have something surprising up his sleeve. One administration official said that there remained debate about whether Mr. Obama would formally endorse Israel’s pre-1967 borders as the starting point for negotiations over a Palestinian state, a move that would send an oratorical signal that the United States expected Israel to make concessions. "

Boy Scouts and the ACLU: A War of Worldviews

Byron Barlowe  "The original Boy Scouts began in England in 1907. The Prime Minister said the new movement was “potentially ‘the greatest moral force the world has ever known’.” Yet surprisingly, there are those who would gut the movement of its culture-shaping distinctives."
Byron Barlowe is a research associate and Web coordinator with Probe Ministries. He earned a B.S. in Communications at Appalachian State University in gorgeous Boone, N.C. Byron served 20 years with Campus Crusade for Christ (CCC), eight years as editor and Webmaster of a major scholarly publishing site, Leadership University (LeaderU.com).

Are We Facing an Iranian Missile Crisis? The Dereliction of our Media



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 Ron Radosh   "The Iranian-Venezuelan deal evidently also includes housing of Hezbollah cells and Quds forces in the new facilities, ready to expand their activity in Latin American in conjunction with drug cartels in the region, including those causing so much trouble now in Mexico. As Kahili puts it so well:"

The radicals ruling Iran are emboldened by the confusion of the Obama administration in confronting Iran’s nuclear program. The Iranian regime feels that America has exhausted all of its options with is negotiation and sanctions approach and therefore no longer poses a serious threat to Iran’s nuclear drive.

....
"Clearly, the time for the United States to make known its firm opposition to Iranian missiles in Venezuela is now, not a few years hence when they are already operational. But first, our country must be informed that Iran and Venezuela have such plans in mind. That means all our news outlets must join Die Welt in reports of their own."

Ronald Radosh is an Adjunct Senior Fellow at The Hudson Institute, and a Prof. Emeritus of History at the City University of New York. He is the author or co-author of 14 books

Opinion: Iran is Building a Secret Missile Installation in Venezuela  "Venezuela is said to have significant reserves, something that Iran is desperately in need of for the continuation of their nuclear bomb project. Other activities include housing of the Quds forces, along with Hezbollah cells in these facilities, so they can expand their activities throughout Latin America and form collaborations with drug cartels in Mexico and then enter America."  It appears we have become the Britain of the 1930's.

A Fallen Hero vs. the Mullahs  "Can the legacy of a West Point graduate derail Iran’s nuclear ambitions?"....

"Pam Baragona is the sister of Rocky Baragona, and her family has honored him by investigating Kuwait & Gulf Link Transport (KGL) to the hilt — “walking the halls of Congress for seven years” to seek accountability. What they recently uncovered was that KGL, fattened beyond imagination by U.S. taxpayers, was working with a militant regime that is hardcore anti-American."