Chamblee54

This content was published December 30, 2008. … There is a war going on in the Gaza Strip. BHO and GWB are on vacation. In the case of GWB, this is probably for the best. Meanwhile, BHO is dodging the hot potato in Gaza, and hoping the inauguration can be moved back to March 4.
BHO has a dandy website, change.gov. A big part of it is devoted to his agenda. It is interesting to see what this says about foreign policy. The first section is about the “greatest threat” to America. To BHO, this is the resurgence of the Taliban and Al Queda. The call is for increased troop levels in Afghanistan. As for the ticking time bomb (with nukes) in Pakistan, there is one sentence … ” Obama and Biden will increase nonmilitary aid to Pakistan and hold them accountable for security in the border region with Afghanistan”
The next section is about the “gravest danger” (as opposed to greatest threat). This refers to the spread of nuclear weapons. There is no mention of Israel getting rid of its nukes. … Skipping over “Iran” and “Energy Security”, we get to the section “Renewing American Diplomacy”. The third “bullet point” is the Israeli Palestinian conflict. “Obama and Biden will make progress on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict a key diplomatic priority from day one. They will make a sustained push — working with Israelis and Palestinians — to achieve the goal of two states, a Jewish state in Israel and a Palestinian state, living side by side in peace and security.”
The next section is Israel. At this point we see where BHO’s heart lies. This is directly related to what his campaign contributors have told him to think. “Barack Obama and Joe Biden strongly support the U.S.-Israel relationship, and believe that our first and incontrovertible commitment in the Middle East must be to the security of Israel, America’s strongest ally in the region. They support this closeness, and have stated that the United States will never distance itself from Israel.
During the July 2006 Lebanon war, Barack Obama stood up strongly for Israel’s right to defend itself from Hezbollah raids and rocket attacks, cosponsoring a Senate resolution against Iran and Syria’s involvement in the war, and insisting that Israel should not be pressured into a ceasefire that did not deal with the threat of Hezbollah missiles. He and Joe Biden believe strongly in Israel’s right to protect its citizens. … Barack Obama and Joe Biden have consistently supported foreign assistance to Israel. They defend and support the annual foreign aid package that involves both military and economic assistance to Israel and have advocated increased foreign aid budgets to ensure that these funding priorities are met. They have called for continuing U.S. cooperation with Israel in the development of missile defense systems.”
The Israel fact sheet has this: “Barack Obama and Joe Biden believe in working towards a two-state solution, with both states living side by side in peace and security. To that end, Senators Obama and Biden are cosponsors of the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act of 2006. Introduced in the wake of Hamas’ victory in the Palestinian elections, this act outlaws direct assistance to any entity of the Palestinian Authority controlled by Hamas until it meets the conditions of the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations to renounce violence, recognize Israel, and agree to abide by all agreements signed by the Palestinian Authority.“
Operation Cast Lead was the 2008 tragedy in Gaza. “Hamas won the 2006 Palestinian legislative council elections. Following its election victory, the United States, European Union and Israel imposed severe economic sanctions on the Palestinian territories. … In June 2008, Egypt brokered a six-month ceasefire between Hamas and Israel. Hamas promised to halt rocket attacks while Israel agreed to ease an embargo that had stopped humanitarian aid from getting through, and to stop military raids into Gaza. On November 4, 2008, Israel launched a military incursion into a residential area of Dayr al-Balah in Central Gaza in an attempt to arrest Hamas members. Israel insisted that this was not a violation of the ceasefire. After several weeks of repeated flare-ups in violence, Hamas announced the end of its truce with Israel. … The Gaza war, also known as Operation Cast Lead, began on December 27, 2008. Israel immediately launched a widespread aerial bombing campaign, targeting more than 100 locations in the densely-populated Gaza Strip, including residential homes, police stations, schools, United Nations buildings, and hospitals. An Israeli ground assault was launched on January 3, 2009. During the operation, Israeli forces fired shells containing white phosphorus, an illegal weapon that burns indiscriminately. The conflict ended in a unilateral Israeli-declared ceasefire on January 18”
BHO became POTUS on January 20, 2009, and served two full terms. His foreign policy was one of the worst parts of his administration. Israel conducted Operation Pillar of Defense in 2012, and Operation Protective Edge in 2014. Thousands of Gazans were killed, and Israel did not become safer. The dirty war in Syria started under BHO, with Al-Queda as our ally. The Maidan Revolution took place in Ukraine, leading to the current war with Russia. Ukraine was not mentioned on the foreign policy page. … Pictures today are from The Library of Congress. John Vachon took the social media picture in May 1940. “Hands of old couple and their granddaughter. Hilly Ozark farm country. Missouri” ©Luther Mckinnon 2025 · selah