Israel lifts ban on settlement growth, killing peace hopes that were long dead anyway
I’ve been deeply pessimistic about the Obama administration’s efforts at peacemaking in the Middle East, and indeed about the prospects of peace in general. By every indication, any chance of a workable two-state solution ended years ago, thanks largely to the continued expansion of West Bank settlements. Today, even if Palestinian leaders were miraculously awarded the courage and authority needed to make a deal with Israel, the “facts on the ground” on the wrong side of the Green Line would make such an agreement impossible.
Which is exactly what they were intended to do.
This week, Israel threw a little more dirt on the coffin when it ended its 10-month moratorium on settlement construction. The decision probably means the end of peace talks with the Palestinians and further strains Israeli relations with the United States and other countries, but to Israel those are small prices to pay .
David Newman, professor of political geography at Ben-Gurion University and editor of the International Journal of Geopolitics, expresses my pessimism eloquently in a new piece in the Jerusalem Post:
“There has been an important change in the way the settler population, along with many Israelis, views the role of settlements in a peace agreement. It is clear that the critical mass, the number that would make it almost impossible for any government – even one on the extreme Left – to evacuate the entire population has been long passed. Even allowing for a redrawing of the border involving the swap of territories and the inclusion of large settlement blocs within Israel, there will still be between 60,000 and 100,000 settlers on the Palestinian side of the line. Not only is this number significantly larger than the mere 7,000 of Gush Katif who were evacuated in 2005, it also comprises the ideological hard core of settlers in such places as Kedumim, Elon Moreh, Shiloh, Eli and Ofra (to name but a few), whose opposition to evacuation will be much stronger than those living in larger urban settlements close to the Green Line, such as Betar Illit, Alfei Menashe and perhaps even Ariel, who could have been bought out for adequate compensation.
More significantly, there has been a change in the way many now view the time factor. In the past, time was always perceived as being on the side of the Palestinians. They could simply play the waiting game while their own population, spurred by natural growth, increased much more rapidly than that of the settlers.
In demographic terms, this is still true. But the settlers have realized that if, since the signing of the Oslo agreements, their own population has more than doubled, it is no longer the demographic ratio between the two populations (which will always be in favor of the Palestinians), but the absolute numbers that make it increasingly difficult for a government to implement another forced evacuation.
They understand that every additional house, family and road make a peace agreement less plausible.
… Life will continue as normal. Settlements will expand. Palestinians will, once again, seek violent forms of resistance. The government will clamp down and pursue stronger security measures and curfews.
Back to square one. No settlement freeze, no significant peace talks. All of us, Israelis and Palestinians alike, will suffer the consequences.
In the long run, I fear, the consequences mentioned by Newman will be far more profound for Israel than for the Palestinians.
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170 comments Add your comment
josef nix
September 27th, 2010
7:48 pm
David
Tone? Yes.
Paul
September 27th, 2010
7:51 pm
josef nix
Thanks. I don’t recall that he has not distinguished between the two. Perhaps he’ll return and clarify.
josef nix
September 27th, 2010
7:55 pm
PAUL
As I said, he’s a bit more restrained this p.m. The deeper he gets into his cups, the worse it is…it is something that I know I pay more attention to than others, for obvious reasons…and I don’t expect others to see it quite the way I do…
Del
September 27th, 2010
7:58 pm
Never could understand why so many American Jews identify with the liberal left in this country, while so many on the left favor the Palestinians in their war against Israel. The state of Israel has no better friends than the Evangelical Christian right in America because without the United States Israel couldn’t exist and if the far-left succeeds in minimizing Christians in this country, Israel is in real trouble.
Paul
September 27th, 2010
7:58 pm
thanks, josef nix. I appreciate hearing that. While it’s not my perception, I do realize that your background will influence you do have a different reaction.
Doggone/GA
September 27th, 2010
8:00 pm
“Never could understand why so many American Jews identify with the liberal left in this country, while so many on the left favor the Palestinians in their war against Israel.”
and has it never occured to you that what you perceive as the attitude of “the left” is not ALL that American Jews care about?
David's Goliath
September 27th, 2010
8:01 pm
It was in reference to the criticism of the State of Israel’s illegal occupation and settlement of the West Bank when sitting on land illegally occupied and settled here in Georgia.
And who did N-Ga force off of the land he, I assume, holds legal deed to.
Disgusted
September 27th, 2010
8:01 pm
I don’t see any possibility of reconciliation. What’s Israel’s choice? Give up the occupied lands and return to bombardment from the Golan Heights in addition to creating more and nearer Palestinian rocket sites? And what’s the Palestinian option? Hamas, which really exerts authority over the government, will never agree to Israel’s right to exist, and the occupied land will have been given up for nothing. Israel’s only other option is to cease to exist as a Jewish state.
There’s no solution there, folks. And if I must choose between Palestinians and Israelis, I’ll side with the Israelis. At least the latter have some respect for human life, even if I can’t agree with the state’s current militancy. If you want to see Hamas’ attitude toward the value of human life, go googling for some of those videos of Hamas gunmen machine-gunning their own people on suspicion of possibly cooperating with the Israelis.
josef nix
September 27th, 2010
8:02 pm
PAUL
As does my 35 years sharing beads and blankets with a displaced person…if you listen to this argument through Tsa-la-gi ears, it rings hypocritical in extremis.
David's Goliath
September 27th, 2010
8:04 pm
Tone? Yes.
By way of well placed exclamation? Inflection through the clever use of italics and boldening? Or perhaps a little reading between the lines through one’s own colored lenses is involved.
josef nix
September 27th, 2010
8:04 pm
David
The Tsa-la-gi, that’s who. Did HE force them off? Did Shmuel bar Lev force the Palestinians off? Personally, no, but both are perfectly willing to take the benefits from those who did…
Del
September 27th, 2010
8:04 pm
Dog,
They care about Israels survival and there in lies the paradox.
josef nix
September 27th, 2010
8:06 pm
David
As you can see from my post to Paul earlier, I don’t deny the charges of “through one’s own colored lenses.” I fall prey to that the same as we all do…in some areas more so than others…
Paul
September 27th, 2010
8:10 pm
josef nix 8:02
I think you recall one of our earliest exchanges, before I was aware of Unmentionable, began when I made the observation that no administration, Democrat or Republican, liberal or conservative, had followed thru with the Dept of the Interior doing much of anything at all to pay Native Americans that which they were owed and it would be a fine thing if one did and not hide behind a court battle to see how little they had to pay -
David's Goliath
September 27th, 2010
8:16 pm
Josef,
I bought and paid for the land that I live on and I have a legal document stating that. If you were to approach me and claim that the land actually belongs to you because your ancestors once lived on it, I would tell you to go frack yourself because I don’t live in the past and I did not take advantage of anyone in order to acquire the land that I legally purchased, under the law of the land, on the open market. Further, I suspect a court would uphold my opinion over yours.
josef nix
September 27th, 2010
8:19 pm
David
Worcester v Georgia…but then might makes right..
PAUL
It is still very much an open question, but as the Bruin has told us, it’s not an issue around here…
Paul
September 27th, 2010
8:22 pm
josef nix
Sounds like a reasonable understanding of the situation.
Isn’t there a prayer about picking one’s battles and knowing what one does and does not have control over? From Niebuhr?
God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
Del
September 27th, 2010
8:23 pm
Shouldn’t offer up my two cents but I will anyway. Served with both American Indian Marines and Canadian Indian Marines, outstanding combat fighters. USMC 1961-1967
josef nix
September 27th, 2010
8:24 pm
“Israel is the stronger side in this ongoing conflict and, as such, is the one able to make the critical concessions and lead the way. They should be seen as concessions from a position of strength and not, as the right wing argues, a sign of surrender.”
Buried deep in the Post article Jay cited and not quoted by him lies part of the “answer” for a solution. Those on top are just very rarely so inclined, as I said above, might makes right.
josef nix
September 27th, 2010
8:28 pm
DEL
A bit of Vietnam era trivia for you…American Indians served in greater numbers and lost more of their young men and women relative to their share in the general population than any other group…
Doggone/GA
September 27th, 2010
8:32 pm
“Those on top are just very rarely so inclined, as I said above, might makes right.”
I know this isn’t exactly “on topic” but ^ this brings back to mind a show on NPR this weekend that was about Malcom X and “The Autobiography of Malcom X”
VERY interesting, especially to someone like me who was JUST too young to really understand or even care about, what was going on around and because of him. But something struck me that I don’t think would have hit me quite the same even if I had been older at the time…and that was the oft-repeated quote: “We declare our right on this earth…to be a human being, to be respected as a human being, to be given the rights of a human being in this society, on this earth, in this day, which we intend to bring into existence by any means necessary.”
I know, thinking back on the faint memories I have of that time, that this was perceived as a threat…and maybe I would have seen it that way too, back then. But TODAY (yesterday actually) what hit me REALLY HARD was that it was, not a threat, but a plea to the much more powerful whites in this country…that WE have the POWER to make violence unneccessary. But we didn’t act on that power, and what we got was the violence we could have prevented.
Del
September 27th, 2010
8:37 pm
josef,
While like I said American Indians and there were Canadian Indians who were part of the some 20,000 Canadians who came here to fight in Vietnam, the majority were white Anglo Saxon Americans about 75% who mostly volunteered. The 58,000 thousand on the wall, well there ethnic backgrounds aren’t reflected, they just all died. Never mattered if you were white, black, red, yellow or purple.
G Cancryn
September 27th, 2010
8:38 pm
England The US and the other conspirators never had the authority to give that land to Jews down on their luck after ww2 because the jews were white, and everybody had a guilty consience for not stepping in earlier against Hitler.
josef nix
September 27th, 2010
8:40 pm
DEL
As a Viet Vet said to me one time, “a bullet is color blind.”
G Cancryn
September 27th, 2010
8:40 pm
It’s clear. The Jews want it ALL. They want the Palestinians OUT of Palestine. Ask them, many of them will tell you so.
josef nix
September 27th, 2010
8:45 pm
G Cancryn
Yeah, them ungrateful Hebes…
Okay, Jaybird, there it is…no distinction between the policies of the State of Israel and “The Jews…”
Let’s just go ahead and start citing The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, shall we?
RB from Gwinnett
September 27th, 2010
8:51 pm
“Religion is a sham that has caused more bloodshed than anything else in the history of mankind.”
Grumpy, I can’t even begin to imagine the misery you’ll enjoy if you’re wrong. Good luck with it…
josef nix
September 27th, 2010
8:53 pm
Well, hope the Baptists and Muslims enjoyed the break from bash…glad to be of service…
Doggone/GA
September 27th, 2010
8:53 pm
“I can’t even begin to imagine the misery you’ll enjoy if you’re wrong. Good luck with it…”
Maybe you didn’t mean it this way, but the way you’ve worded this makes it sound like you RELISH the thought of the misery he’ll “ENJOY”
josef nix
September 27th, 2010
8:57 pm
Doggone
Before I check out…
An interesting comment on Malcolm X…when I have more time, this is a discussion I’d enjoy having with you and your perspective…
Hillbilly Deluxe
September 27th, 2010
8:58 pm
Well, hope the Baptists and Muslims enjoyed the break from bash…glad to be of service…
Thanks for the night, off.
Doggone/GA
September 27th, 2010
9:00 pm
“when I have more time, this is a discussion I’d enjoy having with you and your perspective…”
It would be interesting for sure…but I’m labeling it a revelation. More than just perspective.
RB from Gwinnett
September 27th, 2010
9:01 pm
BTW, you can argue the Israel/Palestine issue all you want, but the outcome is already documented in a very good book. You should quit wasting your time with all the speculation and hand wringing and just check out the book!
Del
September 27th, 2010
9:02 pm
Like I’ve said before on this blog , I don’t think this is the correct forum for me to express my religious views, however, I don’t criticize those who do try to advance their beliefs. I will say this though, from my own experience, those with an open mind will be touched by God and their experience will leave no doubt for the rest of their lives in this world. I pray that those who reject will at some point become as fortunate as I have been.
josef nix
September 27th, 2010
9:05 pm
g’night all…
Doggone/GA
September 27th, 2010
9:08 pm
“I don’t think this is the correct forum for me to express my religious views”
Del, I think you will find that those of us willing to discuss religious views have no problem listening to what someone else has to say…but speaking, at least, for myself…there’s a real difference between stating “this is what I believe” and “this is what YOU SHOULD believe”
It’s been my experience here that there’s a lot of tolerence for the first, and not much for the second.
Del
September 27th, 2010
9:09 pm
Taps and pray for those who’re in harms way defending this country with their young lives as we peacefully sleep. Dissenting views on this blog won’t draw incoming.
Brett
September 27th, 2010
9:14 pm
It’s the usual Israeli way. Selfishness & arrogance know no limits.
RB from Gwinnett
September 27th, 2010
9:14 pm
No, Doggie, I don’t relish anybody spending eternity in hell. Not at all. I do occasionally get a little testy with the Christian haters, however, and this fool certainly is one. There will be a time when he/she stands before God and is reminded of these times he rejected our Lord. I don’t want him to be able to say he wasn’t warned and I think offering an olive branch to one so full of hatred would be a waste of time. Perhaps through his misery someone else might see the light and change the path they’re on.
Doggone/GA
September 27th, 2010
9:20 pm
“I don’t relish anybody spending eternity in hell.”
Then next time you express that sentiment might I suggest you use some other word than enjoy? And again just personally, but I think you are WAY overreating in labeling what he said “hatred” – I saw no hatred in his words.
RB from Gwinnett
September 27th, 2010
9:32 pm
” I saw no hatred in his words.”
Point well taken, but I can’t imagine any other reason to have posted the comment he posted.
Doggone/GA
September 27th, 2010
9:35 pm
“but I can’t imagine any other reason to have posted the comment he posted.”
Well, I read it as an indictment of religion…not of faith. I can sympathize with the sentiment…religion DOES cause a lot of problems in the world, mostly because of what I addressed to Del: that too many people are not content with saying what THEY believe, they want to go on to insist that EVERYONE should believe the way they do.
yowhatup
September 27th, 2010
9:44 pm
Nothing changes over there…waste of copy & paste Bookman….
carry on.
yowhatup
September 27th, 2010
9:45 pm
Mormons have it right….didn’t you see that Southpark episode guys?
buck@gon
September 27th, 2010
9:53 pm
Still, the West Bank is a paradise compared to Gaza.
Maybe Israel should build settlements there?
AmVet
September 27th, 2010
9:58 pm
Well, that repulsive post with the Hitler reference – “The guy probably thinks Hitler was a great humanitarian that just had his life’s work ended too soon.” – made for some weird bed fellows and spirited debate, yes?
How can josef and other decent people condone such a cavalier and puerile use of it?
It is an insult, worthy of being flung by only the most juvenile and the most disgusting. To degrade oneself by using it in that fashion is to me, truly remarkable.
Just my two cents worth…
RB from Gwinnett
September 27th, 2010
10:00 pm
Doggie, if you knew the road another man was on drove straight off a cliff, would you not feel compelled to encourage him to stop, to turn back, and ultimately to warn him with all your might? Or would you stand by and let him drive off the cliff because he didn’t want to be bothered by your suggestions the route was perilous?
Think about it.
Doggone/GA
September 27th, 2010
10:00 pm
getting late…night all
godless heathen
September 27th, 2010
10:12 pm
Since I don’t think a majority is going to come to their senses and denounce religion in favor of reason in our lifetimes, the only solution that will bring “Peace in the Mideast” is for one side to kick the living sh*t out of the other. I’m on the side of the Judeo-Christians.
md
September 27th, 2010
10:28 pm
“Role the clock back to before 1948. If there was no state of Israel, is there still conflict in the ME?”
There is that wonderful arbitrary point in time argument again – let’s get real, that conflict is older than dirt and odds are it will remain that way.
Bruno
September 28th, 2010
12:10 am
Don’t forget: Bruno, I think my response was less condescending than yours but if you were offended, I apologize and it wasn’t my intent.
Df–You’re right that my original charge against “scientists” who claim that life is strictly a mechanistic process was pretty strong. But, as stated, it is borne out of the frustration of trying to reason with people who refuse to acknowledge the 900 lb. elephant in the room. Somehow, matter has the ability to “self-organize”, yet no physical properties on the atomic scale can explain that. And, it is only recently that even the scantest of lip service is being given by the scientific community to the obvious magic that “self-organization” represents . For the most part, anyone who draws attention this 900 lb elephant is told they are just not well-versed in Darwin’s theories.
For someone who works in health care, I would be shocked if you can’t acknowledge the obvious intelligence which permeates the Universe. Somehow you seem to be able to accept that 7,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 individual atoms working in unison within our bodies is just another ho-hum consequence of natural selection over time. Supposedly, single-cell organisms have been around for about 3,800,000,000 years, and animals for about 1,000,000,000 years. Though these estimated times are certainly long spans, I don’t think they are long enough for a series of accumulated accidents to result in the level of organization that 7 x 10^27 atoms working together for a single purpose represents. The mathematics is just too mind-boggling.
My suspicion is that many people defend a strictly mechanistic, purposeless existence because they feel the only other alternative explanation is an anthropomorphic Creator. As stated in my original posts on this subject, I think that is a false dichotomy. Life is magical, but in a far more intriguing, complex way than our imaginations can characterize.
Bruno
September 28th, 2010
12:15 am
Back to Columbus tomorrow, only have to move my bed and computer into storage to complete the first stage of my move.
A little musical treat from Alan Parson that reminds me of my teen years:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4yCgdeWp9s&feature=related
Gaze at the sky
And picture a memory
Of days in your life
You knew what it meant to be happy and free
With time on your side
RW-(the original)
September 28th, 2010
12:48 am
Hillbilly D,
I just finished watching the Cubs game, mostly out of interest for the fate of the Braves. If that’s the way their games generally go when they have a chance to win I feel for you and also respect you even more that you can a cool head amongst that madness.
RW-(the original)
September 28th, 2010
12:54 am
keep
.
insert where needed
/also a sign of genius I’ve been told
Don't Forget
September 28th, 2010
12:56 am
Bruno, hope the new job is going great. Always sucks to be the “new guy” though but it always gets better. I can understand a lot of your skepticism but there is experimental evidence that suggest that the original orgainization occurs fairly easily. Put phospholipids in a bucket of water and they will spontaneously form a phospholipid bilayer which is essentially a cell membrane. Put water and some of the primordial gases in a container and add periodic electric charges to simulate lightning and you get amino acids. Remember too that the primordial atmosphere was much different than the current atmosphere and these compounds weren’t subject to oxidation because of the low level of oxygen. In fact, the early natural selection was kind of a biochemical natural selection where amino acids and other important biochemicals were more protected from degradation when they were inside a phospholipid membrane. And the number of these molecules present on a planetary scale is enormous. The key steps in the process only have to happen once. For example chains of nucleic acid that are in equilibrium between double and single strand allow for crude replication. Once that happens you’re going to get lots of self replicating nucleic acid, In other words you start with a biochemical natural selection and modifications in the nucleic acid and other compounds that facilitate the process result in more of the improvement and the process is continually refined. Every improvement results in more because of the higher success rate of the process. Although it may seem like intelligence I think that is mainly because it is adapted to the world quite well. But there are maladaptations and shortcomings as well. I do believe in a creator/God but I think the design was in the universe and really don’t see anything that defies those laws of the universe. I also have to ask why wouldn’t God design a universe that could result in life spontaneously? Take care.
Don't Forget
September 28th, 2010
1:15 am
I should probably mention too that Darwins work was regarding the origin of species, not the origin of life but the general principles are quite similar. Darwin’s theories are understood and documented much better than the actual origin of life with the single cell organism.
stands for decibels
September 28th, 2010
5:23 am
We’ve reduced ourselves to judging based on our perception of another’s tone? My, how civilized and understanding we are.
Well, the topic is ancient bitter rivalries, and in Intertubes years, people who’ve been hanging around the AJC blogs for “6 or 7 years” probably qualify for “ancient”, so…
stands for decibels
September 28th, 2010
5:34 am
BTW, you can argue the Israel/Palestine issue all you want, but the outcome is already documented in a very good book.
That would be a very good “show of hands” question to pose at the Republican Presidential primary debates.
stands for decibels
September 28th, 2010
5:45 am
Based on my own discussions over the years, the results of this Pew poll don’t especially surprise me.
If you want to know about God, you might want to talk to an atheist.
Heresy? Perhaps. But a survey that measured Americans’ knowledge of religion found that atheists and agnostics knew more, on average, than followers of most major faiths. In fact, the gaps in knowledge among some of the faithful may give new meaning to the term “blind faith.”
[...]
American atheists and agnostics tend to be people who grew up in a religious tradition and consciously gave it up, often after a great deal of reflection and study, said Alan Cooperman, associate director for research at the Pew Forum.
“These are people who thought a lot about religion,” he said. “They’re not indifferent. They care about it.”
Atheists and agnostics also tend to be relatively well educated, and the survey found, not surprisingly, that the most knowledgeable people were also the best educated. However, it said that atheists and agnostics also outperformed believers who had a similar level of education.
Rightwing Troll
September 28th, 2010
6:37 am
Israel is our welfare charge, not our friend. We need to cut them from our teet.
How can “conservatives” support the welfare state of Israel and not support helping our own citizens?
What a joke.
Rightwing Troll
September 28th, 2010
6:42 am
113 in LA. How’s that climate change denial thingy working out for you?
PLO
September 28th, 2010
7:35 am
“Today, even if Palestinian leaders were miraculously awarded the courage and authority needed to make a deal with Israel, the “facts on the ground” on the wrong side of the Green Line would make such an agreement impossible”
If swarthy Palestinian leaders could make a deal with their DNA clones in Israel, the “facts on the ground” would depants any agreement.
Even Howey Mandel would demand to know, “Was it a good deal?”
mystified
September 28th, 2010
7:40 am
stands for decibels
You are right about atheists and I was close to becoming one myself. The thing that kept me from going that direction was the testimony of the 12. I used to wonder that if Jesus was God why would he allow all (most all) his closest friends to be tortured to death. Then I realized they had to die that way. If there were anyone alive who knew for sure if he did what was said about him it was them. Yet, afterward, when Jesus left, they preached on regardless of the persecution and while being tortured or threatened with an awful death, not a one recanted. I just don’t see human nature doing that for a lie.
Ok for what it’s worth… that’s my story
mystified
September 28th, 2010
7:46 am
Ok…. So Israel’s neighbors, who hated them, attacked them in a surprise attack on a religious holiday. They got their a$$eS handed to them by the Jews who drove them back and established a buffer. After the war, they say…ok… we want our land back. Just forget the fact that we want you dead and tried to kill you. It’s our land.
Not anymore it isn’t. Maybe they should rethink their diplomatic skills.
And as for peace with the Palestinians; who really thinks that is possible anyway? It didn’t work out so great for Jordan, so they just through them out of the country. Where was the uproar when that happened? But the Jordan’s are Muslim so that’s ok. We need to hold Israel to a different standard.
Mary Elizabeth
September 28th, 2010
7:57 am
For any atheist who has lingering doubts of his/her thoughts, I recommend reading “Mere Christianity” by Cambridge professor C. S. Lews (”The Chronicles of Narnia”). Lewis, an atheist, worked back into believing, with logic, as he writes in this book. (”Jesus was either a madman or the Son of God.”)
josef nix
September 28th, 2010
8:20 am
Mary Elizabeth…
Have you ever seen the Argentine film, “Man Facing Southeast?” The Christ as either madman or Son of G-d is much the theme. The thesis is that he was both.
Mary Elizabeth
September 28th, 2010
8:45 am
Josef,
No, I had not heard of that film. I will be sure to find it and view it. One has to be a little “mad” to believe in “loving your enemies” in this world. And yet by doing so, we just may save ourselves. Have a great day, Josef, and thanks for the tip on the film.
josef nix
September 28th, 2010
8:49 am
Mary Elizabeth
I would be MOST interested in your opinions on it…I’m upstairs now contemplating Blanche, Stella and Stanley in relation to Bishop Long…
Mary Elizabeth
September 28th, 2010
9:37 am
Josef,
And I’m downstairs (in my home) viewing “The Secret in Their Eyes” a complex film of many colors by Juan Jose Campanella in which the past and present interwine. It also happened to be filmed in Argentina – ah, life’s mysteries!
I’m heading for the beach after this weekend, but I will be back with you in November on my thoughts about “Man Facing Southeast.” Thanks for your interest in my thoughts, Josef. I always enjoy reading your posts.
.
Lil' Barry Bailout
September 28th, 2010
5:42 pm
A strikeout on settlements: Why Obama’s diplomacy is flailing
RICHARD COHEN
Every so often, the sayings of Casey Stengel come to mind. The longtime manager of the New York Yankees, accustomed to a Prussian professionalism, moved over to the astonishingly hapless New York Mets in 1962 and, surveying his new team, uttered an exasperated question: “Can’t anybody here play this game?” What applied to those Mets applies now to the Obama administration. In the Middle East, it’s no hits and plenty of errors
————————-
Idiot Messiah: Fail.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2010/09/28/2010-09-28_a_strikeout_on_settlements_why_president_obamas_diplomacy_is_failing.html#ixzz10rYnDEAW