Author Archives: Soccerdad

About Soccerdad

I'm a government bureaucrat with delusions of literacy.

If you do it for us, we don’t have to

Isabel Kershner reports Netanyahu backs Palestinian state with caveats: But beyond the idea of a state, he seemed to offer little room for compromise or negotiation. … “Benjamin Netanyahu spoke about negotiations, but left us with nothing to negotiate as … Continue reading

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No Roger, there is no Santa Claus

It’s always sad when a child has his childhood fantasies ripped away from him. It didn’t seem that long ago that Roger Cohen (and David Ignatius) were telling us that the “Mad Mullahs” of Iran were just a neo-conservative myth. … Continue reading

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Shaping Obama

There are two points about the recent Washington Post report, Obama’s aides, friends shaped his views on settlements: The first is the omission of any mention of President Obama’s friendship with Rashid Khalidi or Ali Abuminah. This allows the reporters … Continue reading

Posted in Israel, Israel Derangement Syndrome | Tagged | 2 Comments

The campaign’s the thing

During the campaign last year, we kept on hearing stories about how supportive President Obama would be of Israel. Those of us who looked at his associations and wondered how someone with his background would be pro-Israel were mocked for … Continue reading

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The Obama administration’s contribution to the election in Lebanon

I expressed some skepticism towards the claim that President Obama’s Cairo speech helped boost the prospects of the March 14 coalition. I also offered my own suggestion that perhaps the speech scared Christians into voting for the coaltion. Max Boot … Continue reading

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The morning after the morning after three years later

Snoopy noted a Bradley Burston column in the wake of Israel’s war with Hezbollah in 2006 in which Burston wrote (the link to Ha’aretz has expired): When this war is over and Israel’s troops are gone from Lebanon, and when … Continue reading

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Dennis the pro-Israel menace

The Washington Post focuses on the diplomat in charge of running policy on Iran, with a feature titled: Dennis Ross Faces Big Task on Iran Policy, Including Overcoming Pro-Israel Label. Now this isn’t the actual title in the print edition, … Continue reading

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The studiously avoided refugees

In his speech in Cairo last week President Obama referred to himself as a “student of history.” A number of writers have pointed out that there’s a dimension of the Middle East’s history that the President failed to mention. A … Continue reading

Posted in Israel, Jews | Tagged | 1 Comment

Mending fences, Middle East style

When (then-)Crown Prince Abdullah wished to repair the image of Saudi Arabia – 15 of whose nationals had been involved in the worst terrorist act on American soil – in American eyes, he invited Thomas Friedman to Riyadh (Friedman, a … Continue reading

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Abbas the obstacle

I was surprised by two opinion pieces over the weekend. One was by Thomas Friedman, After Cairo, it’ Clinton Time. I assumed that Friedman was going to write how Secretary of State Clinton now had to pressure Israel. In fact … Continue reading

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Hezbollah loses (for now)

Tony Badran has a complete roundup of the results of the Lebanese election. It features of names that I’m unfamiliar with, but will be of interest with those who have a detailed knowledge of Lebanese politics. This is from his … Continue reading

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Both sides not

I wish I had read this before I blogged about the Cairo speech. On Friday the Glenn Kessler and Jacqueline L. Salmon reported Using New Language, President Shows Understanding for Both Sides in Middle East in the Washington Post. But … Continue reading

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The Cairo context

To some degree, I understand the argument that President Obama’s speech in Cairo yesterday wasn’t much different from a speech that President Bush would have given. And if you read some of the more detailed analyses of the speech (like … Continue reading

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Experts know best

Barry Rubin has some fun critiquing credulous reporting on the upcoming Lebanes elections. More seriously, Amir Taheri considers the possibility of a Hezbollah victory: If Lebanon comes under Iranian control it could become one arm of a pincer — the … Continue reading

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Strong bond? More like bound and gagged

From the Washington Post: Obama used far stronger and more specific language than his previous remarks on some of the most contested issues in the Muslim world, including the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Although he urged Arab nations to do more to … Continue reading

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