Resisting stiff opposition from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin "Bibi"   
   Netanyahu, this past Thursday, U.S. President Barack Obama publicly endorsed   
   Israel's pre-1967 borders as the basis for a future Palestinian state. Only   
   hours prior to Mr. Obama delivering his speech, Mr. Netanyahu angrily   
   vocalized his opposition to the president's intentions in a phone call with   
   U.S. Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton.   
      
   As I write this, it is now Friday afternoon in the United States, and Mr.   
   Netanyahu has been given an opportunity to appear before a joint session of   
   Congress, during which time he will clearly spell out his opposition to the   
   new American position. I don't yet know what the outcome of that meeting is,   
   but it is probably safe to say that the Republicans will give Netanyahu a   
   standing ovation, while many Democrats will give him the cold shoulder   
   treatment.   
      
   Quite frankly, while I strongly disagree with Mr. Obama's liberal attitude   
   and personal beliefs regarding important issues such as abortion, gay and   
   lesbian rights, embryonic stem cell research, etc., nevertheless, I must   
   applause him in this instance for being willing to do what no other American   
   president has been willing to do in recent history: stand up against Israel.   
      
   While I have referred to this as "the new American position", it should be   
   pointed out that what Mr. Obama is now endorsing is not really a new   
   position insofar as its originality is concerned; rather, it is simply a   
   strategy which hasn't been tried in about a decade. If you recall the talks   
   that were held between then US President Bill Clinton, Israeli Prime   
   Minister Ehud Barak, and the Palestinians, then you will recognize that the   
   position which Mr. Obama has just publicly endorsed, is for the most part   
   the same as a decade ago; that is, a Palestinian state that is based on   
   pre-1967 borders, along with land swaps where it may become necessary.   
      
   Furthermore, just as Clinton and Barak chose to set aside the more sensitive   
   issues regarding the status of Jerusalem and the Palestinian "right of   
   return" until later on in the discussions, President Obama is proposing the   
   very same thing now.   
      
   In short, there is really nothing new being put on the table. The only thing   
   new about this current development is that Obama is making the same old   
   demands on an Israeli prime minister who will never succumb to American   
   pressure. Obama already knows this, and that is why he remains convinced   
   that Benjamin Netanyahu is not a true partner for peace, any more than Ariel   
   Sharon or Yasser Arafat were.   
      
   So, while Barack Obama has displayed a considerable amount of bravado in his   
   speech, until we actually see action on the ground, it is all just fluff   
   with no real substance.   
      
   While the Palestinians will no doubt be pleased with Obama's speech for the   
   most part, they also need to recognize that the US's tilting towards the   
   Palestinian position does come with a heavy price tag. In other words, it   
   appears that in making this concession, the Obama administration's goal is   
   to try to lure the Palestinians back to a negotiated two-state solution with   
   Israel, and away from a unilateral declaration of statehood at the United   
   Nations General Assembly this coming September.   
      
   In fact, based on hints that were included in Mr. Obama's speech on   
   Thursday, it appears that it is almost a given that the United States will   
   veto any attempt by the Palestinians to achieve Palestinian statehood at the   
   upcoming United Nations General Assembly in September. The US President   
   stated "Symbolic efforts to isolate Israel at the United Nations in   
   September won't create an independent state."   
      
   So it is quite possible that not only will the United States veto any   
   resolution regarding Palestinian statehood, but it may also attempt to   
   convince its European allies to vote in a similar manner. However, as I   
   mention in my three-part series "Palestinian Quest For Statehood And UN   
   Resolution 377", there is an ongoing debate regarding whether or not a UN   
   General Assembly vote can override a UN Security Council veto.   
      
   In looking at this situation from the point of view of an outsider, my   
   suspicion is that the Palestinians will recognize that the trap has been   
   laid, and thus they will not take the bait. In other words, I think that   
   they have been through enough years of fruitless, endless talks, to realize   
   that they don't want to travel down that well-worn road anymore. What Barack   
   Obama is basically proposing, is that they all start at square one again;   
   that is, at the pre-1967 borders. Doing so will no doubt mean many more   
   years of fruitless discussions with an Israeli leadership which has   
   absolutely no intentions of surrendering one single piece of Israel to the   
   Palestinians.   
      
   So, as I point out in the aforementioned series, no matter how you look at   
   it, the next four months promise to be very interesting, insofar as the   
   Middle East peace process is concerned; that is, if they aren't already   
   interesting enough with the ongoing "Arab Spring" uprisings. No doubt there   
   will be a lot of saber-rattling between the Americans, the Israelis and the   
   Palestinians; bravado will be heavily on display; accusations and counter   
   accusations will fly; and we will see who blinks first. The race has begun,   
   the heat is on, and there can only be one victor. The world appears to be   
   betting on the Palestinians. Will they prove to be correct? What do you   
   think?   
      
      
      
   Jeff Snyder, SysOp - Armageddon BBS  Visit us at endtimeprophecy.org port 23   
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