Driss-A-Blog

Samantha Power is a Harvard University professor and is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of the book A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide. She was the unpaid foreign policy advisor for Obama until early March 2008 when she quit over calling Hillary Clinton a “monster”.

What is most interesting about Professor Power is not her opinion on Obama’s opponent, but rather her perspective on Israel and the Arab population within the borders. In fact, we find her thoughts clearly articulated in an interview with the Institute of International Studies at UC Berkeley in April 2002. The interview focuses on how to prevent genocides around the world. This would generally be a commendable idea except that the interviewer asks Power about the Israel-“Palestine” problem within this context of how to prevent genocides. Which leads us to ask the question – is Israel committing genocide? Obviously not. Power might not be so sure.

Power: I don't think that in any of the cases, a shortage of information is the problem. I actually think in the Palestine - Israel situation, there's an abundance of information. What we don't need is some kind of early warning mechanism there, what we need is a willingness to put something on the line in helping the situation. Putting something on the line might mean alienating a domestic constituency of tremendous political and financial import; it may more crucially mean sacrificing -- or investing, I think, more than sacrificing -- billions of dollars, not in servicing Israel's military, but actually investing in the new state of Palestine, in investing the billions of dollars it would probably take, also, to support what will have to be a mammoth protection force, not of the old Rwanda kind, but a meaningful military presence. Because it seems to me at this stage (and this is true of actual genocides as well, and not just major human rights abuses, which were seen there), you have to go in as if you're serious, you have to put something on the line.

Unfortunately, imposition of a solution on unwilling parties is dreadful. It's a terrible thing to do, it's fundamentally undemocratic …. And, unfortunately, it does require external intervention, which, very much like the Rwanda scenario, that thought experiment, if we had intervened early.... Any intervention is going to come under fierce criticism. But we have to think about lesser evils, especially when the human stakes are becoming ever more pronounced. [emphasis added]

Power actually has the nerve to draw a comparison between Israel and Rwanda. An unbelievable and amazing statement. While Israel is far from perfect – we must remember that it is a democracy. Arabs have more rights in Israel than they do anywhere else in the Arab world. Arabs who convert away from Islam run to Israel to protect them from their intolerant brothers. Arabs who are homosexual run to Israel to protect them from their intolerant brothers. Arabs who are suspected of giving Israel information on possible attacks are routinely murdered. Polls taken find that majority of Arabs living in Israel support suicide bombers. To suggest that Israel is on the verge of committing genocide is completely unacceptable.

Power left the Obama campaign because of her “monster” comment. What we must wonder is why she was on his campaign to begin with. Her views are completely out of line with American foreign policy over the last 50 years. Israel has been the only friend of the United States in the Middle East. To even suggest in passing that Israel has genocidal tendencies is beyond rational thought. Does Obama support her views? If not, why was she his foreign policy advisor?

Another advisor to Obama is a fellow named Zbigniew Brzezinski. When looking over his impressive resume one would imagine that he might be a good guy to have on your team, but it seems that he should have retired long before now. Brzezinski was the national security advisor to President Jimmy Carter (the same Carter whose book compares Israel to an apartheid state) and has recently written in the journal Foreign Policy that throws his support behind the book “The Israel Lobby” which accuses the lack of peace in the MidEast on the Israel lobby here in the United States for putting undo pressure on the U.S. government.

“It is a tremendous mistake for Barack Obama to select as a foreign policy adviser the one person in public life who has chosen to support a bigoted book,” said Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz. In fact, Obama himself is trying to distance himself from his own foreign policy advisor, but hasn’t asked him to leave the campaign.

It must be understood that many countries around the world have lobbies here in the United States, not just Israel. In fact, millions of Americans across the country are members of lobbies in Washington DC – everything from the AARP to the automobile unions. To accuse Israel of having a “strong-arm” lobby like AIPAC is ridiculous and underscores the gross ignorance of the situation that Israel finds itself in. No one should forget that Israel is surrounded by enemies that are still looking to drive the Jewish state into the sea. Every day there are rocket attacks that come from Gaza to Sderot and on occasion to Ashkelon. There are reports that any day now Ashdod will be within range of Gaza.

Robert Malley, Obama’s Middle East expert is another one to watch. (The American Thinker does an amazing job exploring Malley ) In fact, he places the failure of the peace talks at Camp David between Barak and Arafat at the feet of the Israelis notwithstanding Barak’s offer of 90% of Judea/Samaria (West Bank) and half of Jerusalem. President Clinton himself puts the blame squarely on Arafat.

So a couple of days before I leave office, Arafat says, calls to tell me what a great man I am. And I just said, "No, I'm not. On this I'm a failure, and you made me a failure.

What is more important to note about Malley is what he would do in the Middle East to end tensions between Israel and her neighbors. He believes in direct negotiations with Syria and the return of the Golan Heights in exchange for peace. Never mind the connections that Syria has with Iran and Iranian proxies Hezbollah and Hamas. The same Iran that has repeatedly called for Israel’s destruction.

What’s even scarier is the fact is what Malley said to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in February 2004.

In that appearance he called for the Road Map to be cast aside because incremental measures intended to build trust were unworkable. He advocated that a comprehensive settlement plan be imposed on the parties with the backing of the international community, including Arab and Moslem states. He anticipated that Israel would object with "cries of unfair treatment" but counseled the plan be put in place regardless of such objections; he also suggested that waiting for a "reliable Palestinian partner' was unnecessary.

In other words, the United States should be able to force Israel to do what is best for the “Palestinians” and not what in Israel’s best interest. Again, we see the same attitude that Samantha Power had when commenting on Israel – the assumption that the United States can impose it’s will on another democratic country.

General Merrill McPeak has had a very distinguished career in the United States military but should keep his mouth closed. In an interview with The Oregonian he reveals some interesting ideas.

McPeak: … I don't think we have anything like a strategy for the Middle East....You know, for instance, obviously, a part of that long-term strategy would be getting the Israelis and the Palestinians together at . . . something other than a peace process. Process is not a substitute for achievement or settlement. And even so the process has gone off the tracks, but the process isn't enough. . . . We need to get it fixed and only we have the authority with both sides to move them towards that. Everybody knows that.

So where's the problem? State? White House?

McPeak: New York City. Miami. We have a large vote - vote, here in favor of Israel. And no politician wants to run against it.

Do you think . . . there's an element within Hamas, Hezbollah, that doesn't want Israel to exist at all and always will be there?

McPeak: Absolutely.

Yeah. So this is - this is multilateral.

McPeak: . . . . So there's craziness all over the place. I think there is enough good will on the Israeli side - I've spent a lot of time in Israel, worked at one time very closely with the Israeli air force as a junior officer, and so - but that's maybe the more cosmopolitan, liberal version of the Israeli population - I think there's enough good will there - I don't know if there is still on the Palestinian side, because they've been radicalized pretty well. But there's enough good will, I would hope, on both sides that you can get the majority into some kind of a big tent, and make something better than what you've got now. If you do that, you'll still have radicals on both sides doing stupid things… You can handle it with police. But if you don't do that, I don't see any way to put together a strategy for the Middle East. I mean it's just kind of a linchpin . . .

So not only is the United States the only one (again) who can move Israel and the Arabs to a peace agreement, but it’s only because of the Jews in New York City and Miami that are stopping us from a settlement. Liberal Israelis are good and there are radicals on both sides “doing stupid things”. And don’t forget – Israel is the linchpin to peace anywhere in the Middle East. Always a pleasant thought.

Last but not least is the Reverend Jeremiah Wright Jr. We’ve all heard the racially destructive statements he’s made about damning America and KKK of A. But let’s look at his perspective on Israel. United Trinity Church’s June 2007 bulletin included a "Letter to Oprah" by Ali Baghdadi a an Arab-American activist. (Oprah had enough sense to leave this church.) This “Letter” has serious problems. It begins with the accusation of genocide.

I am so glad that you will be visiting my country, Palestine. I wish I could be there to greet you. Certainly, despite the genocide and ethnic cleansing they face every hour of the day, my people will be there.

Baghdadi has an amazingly skewed perspective on reality.

…Jews can stay and share our land, if they wish to live in a free and democratic Palestine that respects the rights of all, regardless of their religion, race, or ethnicity. Those who refuse and insist to live in an apartheid state will inevitably pack up and return to their native lands.

Yes, we have seen a “democratic” Palestine. “Palestinians” freely elected a Hamas led government – one with the platform of murdering Jews and destroying Israel. Arabs are free to live in Israel but Jews are unable to live in Gaza or Judea/Samaria without fear for their lives. How can we explain why Jews were required to relocate out of Gaza in the name of peace? How can we explain why Jews were forced out of their homes and businesses if Palestine is a “country” that welcomes all religions, races and ethnicities?

Don’t miss the opportunity to drive five miles south to Bethlehem. Feel the ecstasy of entering the most dramatic cave in which the Virgin Mary delivered her beautiful Palestinian baby.

Yup, Jesus was a Palestinian. Never mind the fact that Christians are being forced out of Bethlehem by the Muslims living there. Never mind there won’t be Christians living there that much longer thanks to their tolerant Muslim brothers.

Arabs have always supported the dismantling of this racist government [S. Africa]. In 1962, African-Arab Sudan granted Mandela a passport to travel with to gain international support in his struggle to free his people. Libya, among other Arab states, provided Mandela and other African liberation movements, political as well as material support. As a result, Libya was designated by the White House as a terrorist rogue state. What a great honor!

We all know that the Muslims are at the forefront of Human Rights. In Muslim countries around the world, women are still stoned and murdered for associating with men. Slavery still abounds in Muslim countries. In fact, we saw teenagers murdered at the Yeshivat HaRav Kook in Jerusalem a few weeks ago. And did someone say Darfur? Where's that? Oh yes, Sudan, the leader in Human Rights. Let's not forget Libya, a known terrorist entity with ties around the world.

There are many more problems with the letter that was included in Reverand Wright’s bulletin that are not included here. This is nothing compared to what was in the July issue. The bulletin included an article written by Mousa Abu Marzook, a Hamas terrorist, wanted by the FBI. It defends Hamas’s platform denying Israel’s right to exist as well as supporting the attacks on her citizens.

Obama again denies knowing anything about this, “I certainly wasn't in church when that outrageously wrong piece was reprinted in the bulletin.”

What’s funny about his denial is that he claims he wasn’t in church but not that he didn’t know about the article in the bulletin.

Obama keeps denying his knowledge about Wright and his connections to the anti-semite Louis Farrakhan even though the church honored the Nation of Islam founder with a “lifetime achievement award”. Wright and Farrakhan also traveled to Libya together to meet with Muammar Qaddafi.

When we look at with whom Obama chooses to associate himself we must ask ourselves – why? Why does he choose to surround himself with advisors who believe that Israel needs to be forced to capitulate to the terrorists in their midst? Why does he have a twenty year association with an anti-American, pro-Hamas, pro-Libya, anti-semite? Why did he allow his children to listen to such hate-mongering if he doesn’t believe it?

Barack Obama continues to issue denials. Truth be told, it’s getting old. Words don’t mean anything. Actions are much more important. If we are to believe anything that comes out of his mouth it must alongside actions. If he is truly above politics and divisiveness like he claims – he must rid himself of his advisors, friends and mentors who are steering him in the wrong direction. If in fact his advisors and friends are only a reflection of Barack Obama and not “just” advisors… I wouldn’t be surprised either.

Click here to see more on Obama and the Jews.