At the annual American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) meeting in Washington today, President Barack Obama delivered a speech on US-Israeli relations under his presidency, but with the bad parts left out.
“I have kept my commitments to the state of Israel,” Obama declared, “At every crucial juncture – at every fork in the road – we have been there for Israel. Every single time.”
What’s not love? A lot.
President Obama failed to mention the years he spent trying to “engage” with the Syrian and Iranian regimes — time wasted that would have been better served pursuing a strategy to responding to those countries’ support for terrorism, weapons proliferation, horrible human rights records, and enmity towards Israel.
Left undiscussed was the Administration’s missed opportunity to embrace the Green Revolution against Tehran.
No word, either, on the years wasted pressing for Israel to negotiate with a Palestinian authority that tolerates Hamas — a terrorist organization dedicated to the destruction of Israel.
Not much either on the president’s questionable strategy for Iraq, where the White House was more concerned about getting combat troops out than that the country stays on a path that embraces freedom and security.
Our president also skipped over the dramatic rift between Turkey and Israel and all the Administration has not done to close it.
Finally, President Obama didn’t touch on massive cuts to U.S. conventional forces and the U.S. nuclear deterrent — cuts that will make America a less valuable and dependable ally to Israel.
The President finished his speech by declaring nothing is “off the table” when it comes to dealing with the Iranian nuclear. It would, however, had been far better if he could have given a speech how he had worked to diminish that threat rather delivering an address acknowledging that when his policies fail America might well have to send in the Marines . . . and a lot more.
Israel shouldn’t be reassured — or feeling the love.