Friday, May 20, 2011

National Enquirer on Obama Speech

National Enquirer on Obama Speech: 'Obama Ignites Middle East Powder Keg!'

Although I'm not a big fan of the National Enquirer, I read the transcript of Obama's speech and at first brush came away with pretty much the same impression the Enquirer did:
In a region already marked by terror and uneasy alliances between tribal conflicts dating back thousands of years, PRESIDENT OBAMA backed a Palestinian demand to Israel: "GET OUT!"


Trying to advance debate, Barack Obama endorsed a key Palestinian demand for the borders of its future state, prodding Israel to withdraw back to borders established in 1967.

He also asked Israel to accept the demand because it can never have a truly peaceful nation based on "permanent occupation."
Read more here.


Israel's prime minister Netanyahu also took it that way, and says Obama's plan would leave Israel indefensible:
Reacting to Obama's speech, Benjamin Netanyahu rejected a full withdrawal from the West Bank, saying the 1967 lines were "indefensible" and would leave major Jewish settlements outside Israel. Netanyahu rejects any pullout from east Jerusalem.


Netanyahu heads to the White House on Friday and said he would seek clarifications ...
Robert Spencer is a bit more blunt: Obama calls for the destruction of Israel.

I'm not sure I'd go that far, but I do look forward to some clarification from Obama on the 1967 border issue, which is likely to come when he speaks to the very pro-Israel audience at AIPAC this Sunday. Other than this issue and maybe a couple of others, I thought the speech was all promo and fluff, and very little substance, as is usually the case with Obama speeches.

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