Obama's Anti-Israel Policies Are Doomed

He laid the groundwork for war, not peace: Bret Stephens
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted May 24, 2011 12:39 PM CDT
Obama Is an Anti-Israel President: Bret Stephens
President Obama speaks to the press at the White House in this file photo.   (Getty Images)

President Obama knows how to butter up visiting dignitaries like a pro, which makes the timing of his comment about Israel's 1967 borders notable, writes Bret Stephens in the Wall Street Journal. It came just one day before Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to the White House, which proves that when Obama "wants to show his contempt, he knows how," writes Stephens in a column headlined "An Anti-Israel President."

Strip away the bromides, and Obama's proposal boils down to this: "Israel should cede territory, put itself into a weaker position, and then hope for the best," writes Stephens. A "pro-Israel" president would have rejected Palestinians' right of return, came down hard on Hamas, and made "reform of the Arab mindset toward Israel the centerpiece of his efforts." Obama talks of peace, but what he "offered is a formula for war, one that he will pursue in a second term," writes Stephens. "Assuming, of course, that he gets one." (More President Obama stories.)

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