Unmitigated chutzpah is the only way to characterize this, which comes via David Ignatius:
The Obama team recognizes that Israel will act in its interests, but it wants Jerusalem to consider U.S. interests, as well. The administration has communicated at a senior level its fear that the Israelis sometimes “care about their equities, but not about ours.”
Has Israel “condemned” the U.S.? Has Israel sought to reorient itself away from the U.S.? Demanded unilateral concessions by the U.S.? Snuggled up to foes of the U.S.? Or snubbed its president repeatedly?
The arrogance is stunning, even for the Obama crowd. Another doozy: hmmm, side with the Jewish state or the Israel-bashing, Islamic-leaning, Iran-cooing Turks?
The Obama administration, caught between two allies during this week of crisis, has signaled Israel and Turkey that the blockade of Gaza should be loosened to allow more humanitarian aid to reach the Palestinian population there. From the first news early Monday of the Israeli commando attack on a flotilla of Turkish relief ships, the White House has been trying to balance the interests of two prickly friends. The immediate aim, said a senior official, has been to “defuse the electricity of the moment” by freeing the ships’ passengers and passing a U.N. resolution calling (in fuzzy language) for an investigation of the raid.
That Turkey appears to have facilitated the terrorist flotilla goes unremarked upon by the Obama brain trust, which struggles to reconcile its new approach to the Middle East with reality. You see, you can’t side with Israel and those seeking its harm or destruction.You can’t demonstrate loyalty to allies by being disloyal to your closest one. You can’t bring about peace by bullying the party that’s had its peace offers rejected for 60 years. No wonder the Obama team’s feelings are bruised: those “troublesome Jews” just won’t accept “every invitation to national suicide.”
