Friday, November 12, 2010

Finally, Some US Leadership in the Middle East from . . . Hillary

With the approaching announcement of the findings of the U.N. tribunal concerning the murder of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and concurrent threats of violence from Hezbollah leader Nasrallah against anyone seeking to arrest members of his organization ("We will cut the hand that reaches out for any one of them"), Hillary Clinton did not mince words in an interview with the Lebanon's An-Nahar:

"U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said 'no one knows when and who the Special Tribunal for Lebanon will charge.'

'We must reiterate that no one knows what the Special Tribunal for Lebanon will do or who it will charge and when will it choose to act,' Clinton said in an interview published Friday by An-Nahar newspaper.

'Violence will not stop the work of the STL,' she said, adding that the U.S. will not bargain away its support for Lebanon.

'Hizbullah should realize that resorting to violence is incompatible with the interests of the whole of Lebanon, the interests of the Lebanese people, the interests of the region and the interests of the United States,' Clinton said.

She believed that 'Syrian behavior has not lived up to the level of our hopes and our expectations during the past twenty months.'

'Syria's performance has not lived up to its international obligations,' Clinton added.

She believed Syria 'is still able to choose another route and we hope it will do so,' stressing that U.S. dialogue with Damascus 'will not be at Lebanon's expense.'"

http://www.naharnet.com/domino/tn/NewsDesk.nsf/getstory?openform&6B70C59155B887D7C22577D9001C8323

"No one knows who the Special Tribunal for Lebanon will charge"? Apparently Nasrallah knows, given the security breach which led to the discovery by the U.N. investigation team of Hezbollah's responsibility for the murder. See: http://jgcaesarea.blogspot.com/2010/08/game-of-death-syria-orders-ship.html

How refreshing that Hillary, unlike Obama, is willing to stand up to Damascus and Hezbollah. Also interesting are the pictures from her successful six-hour meeting on Thursday with Netanyahu. Once again, examine the body language (http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/israel-claims-progress-in-effort-to-restart-mideast-peace-talks-1.324236). These are two people who like one another.

And yes, I repeat, Hillary will be running against Obama in the 2012 primaries.

5 comments:

  1. Jeffrey,

    Why do you call it "stand up against Damascus"?
    This is what both of them, Hillary and Obama tell us about Syria, Iran, N. Korea: "They did not live up to our expectations". So, their expectations were wrong. Now what? Nothing. They keep expecting the same. And keep telling us that they are disappointed. Is it what you call "leadership"?

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  2. Hi Marina,

    Hillary has been largely sidelined by Obama, and negotiations with Syria have been conducted via Kerry. Obama, however, may be forced to provide her with a more active foreign policy role (or offer her to be vice president) in order to preserve any chance of reelection. Meanwhile, Hillary is clearly reaching out to the Jewish community in the US and seeking to distance herself from Obama's failures.

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  3. Jeffrey,

    You write:
    " Meanwhile, Hillary is clearly reaching out to the Jewish community in the US and seeking to distance herself from Obama's failures."
    It would be interesting to read about it in one of your next posts.

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  4. "Hillary is clearly reaching out to the Jewish community in the US and seeking to distance herself from Obama's failures."

    You mean by getting Howard Berman and Nita Lowy to release that $100mil for Lebanon's military by promising safeguards that not one bit will go to Hezbollah?

    Or Hillary chastising Israel for the new housing announcements whilst simultaneously promising another $150mil to Abbas/Fayyad?

    I do not know why you think either Clinton (or most elected Dems) is/are now trusted by the non-Israel-bashing left Jewish community in the US.

    Reagan won New York in 1980 for a reason - he was not Carter.

    Hillary NEVER had a deep-rooted base in New York. If she really disagrees with Obama's ME policies, she should resign.

    You think a US aircraft carrier will show up and launch missile strikes if Hezbollah goes postal overthe Hariri decision? You think there would even be a US-led UNSC resolution condemning Hezbollah?

    Not with the Israel-hating Democratic Party base. No Dem wants to lose their votes.

    K2K

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  5. K2K,

    I am no fan of Hillary, but compared with Obama . . .

    I am praying the Republicans will field a viable alternative in 2012.

    I believe that the release of the funds for Lebanon's military is tied to the forthcoming announcement of the UN tribunal concerning the Hariri murder, i.e. some sort of solidarity must be shown with Saad Hariri to avoid a potential coup.

    Is the Obama administration capable of acting if Hezbollah makes the move? Probably not.

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