[Peace-discuss] USA takes orders from Israel

Tue Jan 13 12:02:24 CST 2009

He may have made the call, but I don't think it made much difference.  (The 
White House says that Olmert's account was "inaccurate.")  Cf. the liberal 
Haaretz' account (below) to the right-wing Jerusalem Post article.

In any case, the engagement between two flaky lame-duck executives did precisely 
nothing to change the settled policy of either government. (And it may be that 
Rice et al. [Sarkozy?] was trying to do that.)

There are faction-fights within the USG, but it approved and supports the 
massacre and makes sure that the UN does nothing effective.  --CGE

======

	Last update - 10:27 11/01/2009			
	Israel disappointed by UN resolution that avoids key demands on Gaza
	By Barak Ravid, Haaretz Correspondent

...a delegation sent to New York, including eight Arab foreign ministers working 
in coordination with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, applied 
diplomatic pressure on the U.S., France and the U.K. to draft their own proposal 
calling on combatants to end the fighting. At a certain stage Livni was 
considering traveling to New York in a bid to counter the Arab diplomats' 
initiative, but after consulting with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert the idea was 
abandoned because they said they did not want to give credence to the Security 
Council's decision.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told Olmert that if Israel accepts a 
temporary cease-fire it would help the U.S. defer the Security Council's 
decision. The prime minister's response to her suggestion was negative.

For many days Israel managed to thwart the passing of the resolution, but on 
Thursday the U.S. passed a message to Jerusalem saying it could not continue to 
remain passive and would draft a proposal together with the U.K. and France. 
Rice also specifically told Israel the U.S. would not use its veto power. Livni 
then delivered Israel's list of demands for a cease-fire to the U.S., asking for 
the cessation of arms smuggling from Egypt to Gaza, placing responsibility for 
the outbreak of hostilities on Hamas, asking for Shalit's release and dropping 
demands that the IDF withdraws from the Gaza Strip.

Israel received word late Thursday night that the vote may be postponed by a day 
based on a promise by Sarkozy to delay it if Israel agrees to the joint 
French-Egyptian cease-fire proposal.

However, shortly afterward, France's Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner ignored 
Sarkozy's request to delay the vote and presented it to the council a few hours 
later. After the decision was passed, Israel said it rejected the Security 
Council's proposal, saying it was not practical and accusing Palestinians of 
violating its conditions.

Randall Cotton wrote:
> Bravado? Are you suggesting, Carl, that Olmert is fabricating this quite
> detailed storyline about how he single-handedly induced the President,
> mid-lecture in Philadelphia, to overrule Rice and sabotage the
> effectiveness of the UN cease-fire resolution (allowing Israel to more
> easily dismiss it)? You disregard this too easily, I think. Here's another
> account:
> 
> ***
> 
> The Security Council resolution passed on Friday calling for an immediate
> cease-fire in Gaza was a source of embarrassment for US Secretary of State
> Condoleezza Rice, who helped prepare it but ultimately was ordered to back
> down from voting for it and abstain, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said
> Monday.
> 
> Rice did not end up voting for Resolution 1860, thanks to a phone
> conversation Olmert held with US President George Bush shortly before the
> vote, the prime minister told a meeting of local authority heads in
> Ashkelon as part of a visit to the South.
> 
> Upon receiving word that the US was planning to vote in favor of the
> resolution - viewed by Israel as impractical and failing to address its
> security concerns - Olmert demanded to get Bush on the phone, and refused
> to back down after being told that the president was delivering a lecture
> in Philadelphia. Bush interrupted his lecture to answer Olmert's call, the
> premier said.
> America could not vote in favor of such a resolution, Olmert told Bush.
> Soon afterwards, Rice abstained when votes were counted at the UN.
> 
> http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1231760642497&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
> 
> R
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "C. G. Estabrook" <galliher at uiuc.edu>
> To: "Ron Szoke" <r-szoke at illinois.edu>
> Cc: "Morton K. Brussel" <mkbrussel at comcast.net>; "peace-discuss Discuss"
> <peace-discuss at anti-war.net>
> Sent: Tuesday, January 13, 2009 9:17 AM
> Subject: Re: [Peace-discuss] USA takes orders from Israel
> 
> 
> : Probably bravado by the feckless Olmert.  He undoubtedly knew the story
> of the
> : Bush administration's slap-down of the Iran hit was about to break.
> Remember
> : Sharon had said after 9/11, "First Iraq, then Iran."  Olmert leaves
> office
> : having failed at the grand design.
> :
> : Remember too that the US primary role all along (as in 2006) has been to
> keep
> : the UN (and the "int'l community") off the back of the Israelis as they
> continue
> : their diry business. The US has used the veto threat to do that, and had
> here
> : crafted an innocuous resolution that could maintain the lie of US
> even-handedness.
> :
> : If Rice was traduced in the event, it probably has more to do with
> faction
> : fights in the Bush administration (the neocons hate Rice for staging the
> : ineffective coup against Hamas in 2007) than the laughably small
> influence of
> : the departing (and indictable) PM of Israel.  He's pretty erratic
> anyway -- see
> : the famous interview with Yedioth Aharonoth -- and is not even running
> the war
> : in the final days of his premiership. He tries to insist he's not
> totally
> : irrelevant and leave his successor (Netenyahu?), who'll be dealing with
> a new
> : gov't in DC anyway -- to overcome the embarrassment. --CGE
> :
> : ============
> :
> : Last update - 19:44 29/09/2008
> : ANALYSIS / Olmert's epiphany is too little, too late
> : By Aluf Benn, Haaretz Correspondent
> :
> : At the age of 63, just moments before his departure from premiership,
> Ehud
> : Olmert has reached an extraordinary epiphany. In order to make peace
> with the
> : Palestinians and the Syrians, Israel must withdraw from "nearly all the
> : territories, if not all." As he told Yedioth Aharonoth in a holiday
> interview,
> : even East Jerusalem must be given to the Palestinians.
> :
> : Whoa.
> :
> : What an epiphany: In order to make peace with the Arabs, we must give
> them land.
> : How come we never thought of that before? And where was Olmert when the
> Israeli
> : left, and the whole international community, was repeatedly exhausting
> this
> : claim? Was he really among the screaming spokesmen for the camp opposing
> all
> : agreements and all compromises? Or was that just the evil child within
> him, and
> : not actually the real Olmert?
> :
> : Olmert is repenting now for his sins: For 35 years, he said, "I was not
> prepared
> : to see reality in all its depth." Now he is regretting his vote in
> Knesset
> : against a peace agreement with Egypt, as well as his stubborn refusal to
> annex
> : even a millimeter of Jerusalem's wide border. But most regretfully, he
> has
> : reached this realization too late for it to have any influence.
> :
> : In his words, agreements with the Palestinians and the Syrians are "very
> close."
> : If he were to stay in his post, he could fulfill them, could "bring the
> State of
> : Israel to a decision." But then this mishap occurred, and the State of
> Israel
> : brought about his dismissal, with just "one dubious witness, no trial
> and no
> : substantial evidence."
> :
> : So now it's clear who is to blame for dragging out this state of war and
> : preventing peace: the state prosecutor, key witness Moshe Talansky, the
> justices
> : who decided to hear his testimony, and Defense Minister Ehud Barak who
> coerced
> : the prime minister to resign.
> :
> : Olmert fell, he says, due to the lust for power of unrestrained clerks,
> who did
> : not like his tendency to initiate and to make decisions. He would not
> discuss
> : the suspicions and investigations against him, but was rather insulted
> by the
> : criticism against him. A hedonist? Olmert? All he did was smoke some
> cigars.
> :
> : Olmert believes so strongly in himself and in his self-righteousness,
> that he is
> : trying to make us forget a few of the details that don't fit into his
> new image
> : as prophet of peace.
> :
> : First of all, his negotiating partners have been painting an entirely
> different
> : picture altogether - if not opposite - of peace progress. Palestinian
> President
> : Mahmoud Abbas has said the Palestinians would never accept Olmert's
> proposal for
> : "partial peace." Syrian President Bashar Assad has still not agreed to
> direct
> : negotiations with Israel, even at a low level. This does not mean that
> they are
> : right and he is wrong. It is clear that there is a huge difference of
> opinion
> : when it comes to the chance for an agreement.
> :
> : Second, let's assume that Olmert is right and he soon signs an agreement
> with
> : Abbas. What could be done with this agreement? Should it be hung on the
> wall?
> : Who would execute it and when? And what would happen on the ground in
> the meantime?
> :
> : Third, Olmert's attitude toward the settlers raises doubts about his
> : trustworthiness. Olmert disparages Ariel Sharon in the interview, saying
> that he
> : spoke only of vague concessions without detailing what they would be.
> Olmert is
> : willing to be specific. "What I am saying, no other Israeli leader has
> said
> : before me," Olmert boasts.
> :
> : Sharon really was vague, but he was the only leader willing to stand up
> to the
> : settlers and evacuate them from their homes. Actions, not words. Olmert
> is a
> : hero in a newspaper interview, but in reality has been a marionette of
> the
> : settlers just like the leaders who preceded him.
> :
> : Olmert knew full well that settlement expansion would be an obstacle to
> any
> : peace agreement in the West Bank, and had said as much in the past.
> However,
> : after the bloody 2006 evacuation of the Amona settlement outpost during
> his
> : early days in office, Olmert became fearful of any confrontation or
> friction
> : with the settlers. And when extremist settlers became increasingly
> violent
> : toward their Palestinian neighbors and Israel Defense Forces soldiers,
> Olmert
> : did not even try to curb it. What was he waiting for? Why did he decide
> to add
> : thousands of housing units to settlement blocs that only add to their
> rivals'
> : propaganda, even if they are ultimately absorbed into Israel? And why
> did he
> : leave the outposts where they are?
> :
> : The conclusion that emerges is that Olmert is an excellent commentator,
> but he
> : lacks the firmness to execute his ideas. The interesting parts of the
> interview
> : touch on security issues. Olmert expresses doubts about a potential
> attack on
> : Iranian nuclear facilities, and he strongly opposes a new incursion into
> Gaza -
> : something he was unwilling to say during the barrage of Qassam rockets
> into
> : Israel, when the topic was at the center of public discussion.
> :
> : But Olmert also acts like a politician: He ignores the only political
> agreement
> : reached during his tenure with the Palestinians - the truce with Hamas
> in Gaza -
> : because that accomplishment is credited to his rival Barak.
> :
> :
> : Ron Szoke wrote:
> : > Olmert says called Bush to force change in U.N. vote
> : >
> : > Tue Jan 13, 2009 1:52pm GMT
> : >
> : > JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said a
> telephone call
> : > he made to U.S. President George W. Bush last week forced Secretary of
> State
> : > Condoleezza Rice to abstain in a U.N. vote on the Gaza war, leaving
> her
> : > "shamed."
> : >
> : > Pouring on political bravado in a speech late Monday, Olmert said he
> : > demanded to talk to Bush with only 10 minutes to spare before a U.N.
> Security
> : > Council vote Thursday on a resolution opposed by Israel calling for an
> : > immediate cease-fire.
> : >
> : > "When we saw that the secretary of state, for reasons we did not
> really
> : > understand, wanted to vote in favour of the U.N. resolution ... I
> looked for
> : > President Bush and they told me he was in Philadelphia making a
> speech,"
> : > Olmert said.
> : >
> : > "I said, 'I don't care. I have to talk to him now,'" Olmert said,
> describing Bush,
> : > who leaves office on January 20, as "an unparalleled friend" of
> Israel.
> : >
> : > "They got him off the podium, brought him to another room and I spoke
> to
> : > him. I told him, 'You can't vote in favour of this resolution.' He
> said, 'Listen, I
> : > don't know about it, I didn't see it, I'm not familiar with the
> phrasing.'"
> : >
> : > Olmert said he then told Bush: "'I'm familiar with it. You can't vote
> in favour.'
> : >
> : > "He gave an order to the secretary of state and she did not vote in
> favour of it -
> : > - a resolution she cooked up, phrased, organised and manoeuvred for.
> She was
> : > left pretty shamed and abstained on a resolution she arranged," Olmert
> said.
> : >
> : > Fourteen of the Security Council's 15 members supported the
> resolution, which
> : > has failed to halt Israel's offensive in the Gaza Strip and Hamas's
> cross-border
> : > rocket fire.
> : >
> : > Olmert, under police investigation over alleged corruption, resigned
> as prime
> : > minister in September but is serving in a caretaker capacity until a
> new
> : > government is formed after Israel's February 10 parliamentary
> election.
> : >
> : > (Writing by Jeffrey Heller, Editing by Alistair Lyon)
> : > _______________________________________________
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