Thoughts on Bibi's Return and Its Ramifications

I ended up wanting to excerpt too much, so let me suggest that you read the whole thing as a jumping off point for analysis.  More off-the-cuff nonsense after the fold.

Supermoon, Solar Eclipse, Vernal Equinox, March Madness, Starbucks Race Hustling, and Netanyahu Derangement Syndrome All In One Day!

Well, I guess the only thing I can do as commentary is post this Onion story. 

It's been a lunatic day, in which learning that Starbucks is actually encouraging its baristas to engage customers in discussions about race relations wasn't even the craziest thing that happened.  The inevitable backlash has, admittedly, provided its own form of Schadenfreudelicious entertainment. (Of course the incomparable Iowahawk has a quip.)

Elsewhere, my head is spinning from all the post-Israeli election howling from various people and quarters and media outlets.  I really can't take any more of it, because all the yelling and yammering has coalesced into one wordless collective shriek.  Maybe later I'll try to consider the fallout and talk about foreign policy again, but for now let's just call the furious reactions together "Netanyahu Derangement Syndrome" and let it go at that, mmmkay?

Finally, let me add: THANK GOD March Madness has finally started.  It's the only madness right now that makes any damn sense at all.  

(PS: Go, Anybody-But-Duke!)

Bibi Got (Come)Back

Well, whaddyaknow?  Several folks I know are calling it "a St. Patrick's Day miracle."

Nobody puts Bibi in a corner.

The Best Ad of the Israeli Election?

Apparently Netanyahu is not doing very well in the polls, but I have to say that I really liked this ad.  I thought it was clever, funny, and made its point without being nasty.

Israel Rallies Behind Netanyahu

Current polling has some 90% (!) of Israelis supporting Netanyahu.

Meanwhile Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates have basically lined up against Hamas and so aligned themselves with Israel.

Support at home and from the usually hostile neighbors will give Israel a lot more leeway to act. The New York Times reports on this and complains that Egypt, et al's choice is making everything worse by impeding a ceasefire.  You know, ceasefires would probably be more feasible if Kerry weren't an idiot, Hamas didn't consistently break them by refusing to stop firing rockets, and - let's be brutally honest - they didn't help the aggressor.

Oh, Snap

Zing!

Quote of the Day as Israel Hits Hamas

Around the 8:30 mark: "Sometimes you just have to fight against people who want to murder you."

Kurdish Delight: Turkey and Israel Back Independent Kurdistan

Two quotations:

“In the past an independent Kurdish state was a reason for war [for Turkey] but no one has the right to say this now.” - Huseyin Celik, spokesman for the ruling AK party 

 “We need to support the Kurdish aspiration for independence. They deserve it.” -  Benjamin Netanyahu

The Year In Middle East Foreign Policy: The Biggest Losers

Out of a very crowded field, this piece picks three: the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq (an Iranian resistance group), the Syrian rebels, and (of course) Israel. 

The quote of the day comes from the article too:

"The lesson there is, when the United States says it has your back, don't listen."

How damning.  As for "smart power," this feckless Administration makes it look dumber all the time.

Snowy Greetings From Jerusalem

Wow, snow over there!  It makes for quite a backdrop to the annual Christmas hello.

 

Hope, Change, and the Iran Deal

Dignified Rant considers the deal.  The conclusion?  "We are so screwed."  I concur.

PS: Peace in our time, yo! Sarcasm, aside, though, consider this, which gives us the quote of the day:

 This Administration in its record on the Middle East appears to have a unique ability not to see the approach of danger. 

You don't say!  Well, none are as blind as those who refuse to see.  I repeat this previously voiced sentiment.  Oh, and keep your eye on the Israelis, who are disgusted with this deal "historic mistake," and I can't blame them.  Ummm ... dude?

A Tale of Two Speeches at the UN

It's obvious who's living in a perilous fantasyland and who's living in grim reality.  Here's a piece of Netanyahu's speech.  

Israel will never acquiesce to nuclear arms in the hands of a rogue regime that repeatedly promises to wipe us off the map.  Against such a threat, Israel will have no choice but to defend itself.  I want there to be no confusion on this point: Israel will not allow Iran to get nuclear weapons.  If Israel is forced to stand alone, Israel will stand alone.  Yet in standing alone, Israel will know that we will be defending many, many others.

Such clarity is rare indeed nowadays.  I can only wish our own wretched leadership were capable of it.  (Video of Netanyahu's entire speech here.) 

US and Israel on Assad

US's new Assad policy: "OK, you can stay if you promise to play nicely."
Israel's new Assad policy: "GTFO."

Surprise, surprise, Israel thinks the current idiocy over Syria will encourage Iran.

A Tale of Two Gifts

A rock vs. a tree.  

Snow in Jerusalem

Unusual ... and beautiful.  Check out the photos.  The image of snow-covered palm trees is especially striking, and the one of Netanyahu throwing snowballs darn amusing.  You know, wouldn't it be nice if everyone could settle their differences with one epic snowball fight and then hot cocoa afterwards?

"Necessary Measures": Israel Planning for a Post-Assad Syria

Hmmmm.  Hope for the best, prepare for the worst, as usual?  Netanyahu:

"We are monitoring developments in Syria, where there are dramatic developments almost daily. We are co-operating with the US and, together with the international community, are taking the necessary measures to prepare ourselves for the possibility of far-reaching changes in the regime, with implications for the sensitive weapons systems there."

Hashtag #BibiBomb on Twitter

#BibiBomb was the new thing on Twitter earlier today as social media users responded to Netanyahu's speech - with visual aid! - at the UN.  Here's a look at #BibiBomb and commentary, but if you haven't heard the speech itself, you should.  Transcript here.  I thought it was a good, solid speech of clarity and conviction, delivered with characteristic Netanyahu flair.  Personally one of my favorite moments was this:

"Shockingly, some people have begun to peddle the absurd notion that a nuclear-armed Iran would actually stabilize the Middle East. (pause)  Yeah, right."

Sometimes you need soaring rhetoric.  Sometimes you need to deflate idiocy in no uncertain terms.  As usual when I listen to one of his speeches, I think: now here's an orator.  Anyhoo, full video at C-SPAN or just see it on YouTube here.  You'll know exactly when in the speech the hashtag #BibiBomb sprang into life on Twitter.  The deliberate simplicity made it extremely effective.  Bonus: Netanyahu quotes the great scholar Bernard Lewis!

UPDATE:  Oh, Internet.  I laughed out loud, though.

Quote of the Day: Preventing Iranian Nukes

The quote of the day comes from Netanyahu's appearance on "Meet the Press":

"President Obama has said that he is determined to prevent Iran from getting nuclear weapons. If you're determined to prevent Iran from getting nuclear weapons, it means you'll act before they get nuclear weapons."

Red lines, anyone? Because you and I both know that Iran's plowing ahead - a fact admitted even by the IAEA.  And Obama's policy is incoherent about Iranian nukes.

As for Netanyahu's appearance, I watched it and was struck again by his ability to communicate with both clarity and substance (remember this?) especially as compared to the endless and increasingly obvious BS-spinning of all the other talking heads. It was a nice touch later when he used a sports analogy to describe Iran's nuclear ambitions, as football season has just kicked off:

"You know, they're in the last 20 yards.  And you can't let them cross that goal line. You can't let them score a touchdown. Because that would have unbelievable consequences, grievous consequences, for the peace and security of us all, of the world, really."

Must Be More Of That "Smart Diplomacy"

This is one of the worst headlines I've ever read: "White House declines Netanyahu request to meet with Obama."  Oh, it's not like Bibi's got anything pressing to discuss, right?  Pfffft.  Now late in the day the media says that Obama and Netanyahu spoke on the phone for an hour and that there had been no actual dissing of Bibi.  Somehow it all feels like playing catch-up.  Leading from behind again, are we?

Anyway, you're trying to tell me that in the same timeframe, virtually the same day, the American diplomatic missions in Cairo and Benghazi got attacked - actually, physically stormed - by frenzied mobs, and here the President is publicly having issues with the leader of Israel? The same leader who's dreadfully (and, let's face it, understandably) frustrated by the current approach to a hostile Iran's nuclear ambitions?  The optics of all this is just horrendous, both the initial breaking of the news and then the weird backpedaling that followed.  I want to slam my head on my desk.  (I would, but the desk has too many books on it so there's not enough space. I suppose I could slam my head on one of the stacks of books on said desk?)

Meanwhile, we're getting idiotic headlines like this from the Los Angeles Times: "Israeli leader ratchets up feud with US over Iran."  Really?  It's all Netanyahu's fault?  That's a tendentious, BS headline, and you know it.  This also has a tendentious headline, though some of the content in the actual piece might be worth a glance.

It's late and I'm tired and I'm frankly not only a little unhappy about having the quality of leadership that we do right now in the reality of a dangerous world.  The whole "Arab Spring"/Egyptian revolution business has blown up in our faces, the liberal reformers got shafted, and the entire neighborhood's gotten a whole lot more perilous.  I'm going to bed before anything else happens.  Maybe tomorrow I'll be able to comment more clearly.  I'll just close with this: Ultimately and overall, the Canadians are probably going to prove themselves totally ahead of the curve.

Canada Breaks Off Diplomatic Relations with Iran

Canada has closed its embassy in Iran and is in the process of expelling all Iranian diplomats from Canada. When I heard this from Dignified Rant, I went off and dove into every single Canadian news source I could find (good thing I was already there obsessing about TIFF).  One does indeed wonder, why now?  What does Ottawa know that's precipitated this?  It says that there is no one single reason but the cumulative effect of dealing with Iran.  When the polite Canadians do something like this, one should pay attention.  FYI, Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird has released a statement in which he says, among other things, 

"Iran is among the world's worst violators of human rights. It shelters and materially supports terrorist groups. ... Canada’s position on the regime in Iran is well known. Canada views the government of Iran as the most significant threat to global peace and security in the world today."

He's not wrong, eh? Canada is as of September 7 formally listing Iran and Syria as state sponsors of terrorism under the Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act.  More here (in English and French) from Canadian PM Stephen Harper. Iran's reaction is unsurprising, right down to accusing Canada of being racist and also being Israel's puppet.  Whatever, as Baird specifically called out Iran for its anti-Semitism and incitement to genocide.  (The Israelis have expressed thanks to Canada for the decision, something done also by various human rights groups. Here's a quote from Netanyahu.)

On a more personal note: the response from an astonished Alessandra was "OMG!!!  Go Canada!"  Second that.