[Peace-discuss] Obama: Israeli Settlements "Have To Be Stopped"

[Robert Naiman]

Re: "if only" -

Let's not succumb to the "soft bigotry of low expectations." Bush I
did it. Obama can do it.

"ya reet ma btamr beit" - 'if only' doesn't build a house.

:)

On Tue, May 19, 2009 at 3:13 AM, Jenifer Cartwright <jencart13 at yahoo.com> wrote:
> 1) Hip-hip-hooray! Hip-hip-hooray!
> 2) Ah, if only...
>  --Jenifer
>
> --- On Mon, 5/18/09, Robert Naiman <naiman.uiuc at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> From: Robert Naiman <naiman.uiuc at gmail.com>
> Subject: [Peace-discuss] Obama: Israeli Settlements "Have To Be Stopped"
> To: "Peace-discuss List" <peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net>
> Date: Monday, May 18, 2009, 7:10 PM
>
> Two cheers for President Obama.
>
> President Obama, at the press conference today with Israeli Prime
> Minister Netanyahu:
>
> "Now, Israel is going to have to take some difficult steps as well,
> and I shared with the Prime Minister the fact that under the roadmap
> and under Annapolis that there's a clear understanding that we have to
> make progress on settlements.  Settlements have to be stopped in order
> for us to move forward."
> [...]
> However, what really matters is giving teeth to the policy. There can
> scarcely be any reasonable doubt that if the Obama Administration
> really wants to, it can stop Israeli settlement activity in the West
> Bank. The U.S. has a great deal of leverage over the Israeli
> government. The question is whether the Obama Administration will use
> that leverage.
>
> For example, earlier this month, President Obama sent his FY2010
> budget request to Congress and, as expected, included in it $2.775
> billion in military aid for Israel, an increase of $225 million from
> this year's budget.
>
> This presents the perfect opportunity for the Obama Administration to
> "put its money where its mouth is." The Obama Administration could,
> for example, support conditioning the increase in U.S. military aid on
> Israeli compliance with a settlement freeze.
>
> http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-naiman/obama-israeli-settlements_b_204961.html
>
> http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/5/18/195739/808
>
> --
> Robert Naiman
> Just Foreign Policy
> www.justforeignpolicy.org
> naiman at justforeignpolicy.org
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>
>



-- 
Robert Naiman
Just Foreign Policy
www.justforeignpolicy.org
naiman at justforeignpolicy.org