A New Kind of Blood Libel

Obama: Mid East conflict costs US "blood and treasure"

The radical shift in US Middle East policies, marked by tough demands of Israel, was confirmed and highlighted by President Obama Barak Tuesday, April 14, in his comment that conflicts like the one in the Middle East ended up "costing significantly in terms of both blood and treasure." Reporting this, the New York Times noted that he echoed the recent suggestion by Gen. David Petraeus, OC Central Command, that American lives in Iraq and Afghanistan were imperiled by lack of progress in the Middle East implying Israel's policies on the Palestinians were responsible. (Petraeus later phoned Israel's chief of staff to say his remarks were misunderstood and taken out of context.)

debkafile's US sources see in the US president's remark his rejoinder to the alarmed accusations coming from prominent American-Jewish leaders that the US president has turned his back on Israel's security, although he has repeatedly claimed it was the bedrock of his Middle East policy. Furthermore, AIPAC, the pro-Israeli lobbying group publicized a letter to US secretary of State Hillary Clinton signed by 76 senators and 33 House members urging the administration to defuse tensions with Israel and voicing support for its security.

The World Jewish Congress president Ronald Lauder was to publish an open letter to President Obama in the Washington Post and Wall Street Journal which asks: “Why does the thrust of this administration’s Middle East rhetoric seem to blame Israel for the lack of movement on peace talks when it is the Palestinians who refuse to negotiate?”

Former New York Mayor Ed Koch said he suspects the plan is "to so weaken the resolve of the of the Jewish state and its leaders so that it will be much easier to impose on Israel an American plan to resolve the Israel-Palestinian conflict, leaving Israel's needs for security and defensible borders in the lurch."

For a report on their comments, click here.