Dan Friedman
There is some anecdotal evidence making the rounds that supports the idea Obama is bored by his duties as president. Don’t you buy it for a minute. Obama loves the job. It’s just that certain parts of it excite him more than others. For instance, take the Middle East, the Arab-Muslim world, “Palestine” and Israel. No lack of enthusiasm there. The juices are flowing and it’s obvious President Barack Hussein Obama remains psyched about the mission. Most presidents hold off until their second terms, when there is little left to lose, before they step in the deep doo-doo of "peace." But Obama couldn’t wait. Before completing two years in office he has already wasted thousands of man-hours and billions in borrowed political capital on the region and its problems - mostly by beating down Israel and sucking up to her Muslim enemies.
The Israel-bashing changed (superficially) when Rahm and Axelrod whispered in Obama’s ear that beneath Netanyahu’s “hawkish” exterior lay a submissive pussycat. They’re Chicago Jews and they would know. For once, Obama did the smart thing. He listened to reason and good political advice. It worked too. As soon as Obama stopped kicking the kitty and started stroking it instead, “Bibi” came out from under the bed, reborn a grateful, compliant cats-paw.
From that point on, getting Obama’s other pet, Abbas, to the table with Netanyahu to say “cheese” was just an underhand toss. Yet virtually every advocate for the “peace process” – old hands on both the left and right - says neither side can possibly give the other what it needs and these talks will fail along with the rest. If that collapse occurs now, what does Obama plan for an encore? Even more important, if it’s all a waste of time, and destined to be another item on Obama’s impressive list of failures to boot, then really, what gives?
Glad you asked. It’s Iran.
In Obama’s exotic world, the “peace process” is useful, but not for anything approaching peace. He's already won the Nobel Prize by just showing up at the office. Rather, it’s all a dramatic slight-of-hand, a magician’s diversion. While the flashy show is in progress, the important stuff you're not suppose to notice is going on unseen - right before your eyes. Iran is building atomic weapons and may have already passed the point where the monster can be put back into the cage, auguring nothing less than a sea change that will uproot the world order we've built our lives around for the past 65 years. Yet in the media and official circles, the suspense builds around a few Jews pouring cement while virtually no attention is paid (not even by the Tea Party) to the danger and flux that is threatening to overtake us - except to dismiss it.
Alright, to recap part one: Obama's ersatz “peace process” keeps America spellbound and distracted while the Iranians prepare their nuclear suicide bombs.
But wait, there’s more! It also ties the one pair of hands other than America's with the means and the motive to preempt the Iranian threat. After being brought to heel and publicly degraded without a struggle, not enough of the Jew remains within Netanyahu to summon up the requisite chutzpah to defy Obama and disturb the tidy status quo. While "peace" is waiting just around the next corner, Israel's freedom of action is held in suspended animation.
All of the above increases the likelihood that before the Age of Obama ends we will share our world with a hegemonic Islamist nuclear power. Only after Ahmadinejad makes the official announcement will we first see the President appear disinterested and his eyes glaze over.
It is only natural to wonder whether all this is Obama’s intent or an unforced error of Chamberlain-like proportions. In truth, it matters little because we can never know for sure, though we will find an answer of sorts everyday living with the consequences. More than deficits, economic dysfunction, a defunct health care system or a big, oppressive government, it will be messianic mullahs controlling H-bombs that Obama, and the Israeli, will be remembered for.
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Dan Friedman
NYC
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