Kerry’s Great Accomplishments and Future Peace Plans

United States Secretary of State has started spending more time in Israel than he does on his own country. One would expect that since Secretary Kerry pressured both sides into restarting the peace negotiations this past summer that he would have something to show for all his efforts. Perhaps a summation of what we have been able to discern that Kerry has accomplished is in order and then we will discuss what his future intentions are. Thus far he has wrangled and browbeat Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu into releasing one-hundred-four arch terrorists the vast majority of which were serving multiple life sentences for the murders of Israeli civilians including women, children, elderly, and even months old infants all simply as a gesture to permit Palestinian Authority Chairman Abbas something he can claim he gained so that the Palestinians will allow him to talk to the Israelis and not murder him for the affront their society holds such talks. Secretary Kerry at the time of that deal made a point of relaying that since the Palestinians had chosen terrorist prisoners to be released and not another building freeze that Israel would and could plan, announce and actually build new housing in the housing blocks which have been recognized as likely to remain under Israeli control in any peace accord. Since the beginning of the peace negotiations there have been repeated protestations from Chairman Abbas about Israeli building especially in the areas which Secretary Kerry had informed him that Israel would be permitted by the agreement to build additional residences. The continued building became the first announced Abbas Red Line which must not be crossed or the failure of the peace talks would be on Israeli Prime Minister’s head. From that point forward the main production of the entire peace process has been near countless Abbas Red Lines. This has been Secretary Kerry’s fruits for his efforts. Israel explained that they would require a presence in the Jordan Valley in order to protect Israel from threats out of the east as well as to prevent the Palestinians from importing rockets, mortars, explosives and other terrorist activity necessities as well as additional terrorists going in and out of the Palestinian area to train elsewhere such as Iran, Iraq or wherever such training is available. The Israelis being allowed to monitor the border between the Palestinians state and Jordan became an Abbas Red Line. Then it was mentioned that Israel would not allow for the so-called five million plus Palestinian refugees to be returned into Israel and that they could be absorbed by the Palestinian state or their present country where they reside in apartment blocks refugee neighborhoods. “The Right of Return” for all of the Palestinian Refugees became the next Abbas Red Line. Israelis discussed they could not allow the Temple Mount and Western Wall be placed within Palestinian controlled areas as that would result in once again their not being accessible to Jews for prayers and other activities as it had been before 1967. Possession of the Temple Mount and Western Wall became another Abbas Red Line. This process has been occurring at a pace of approximately two Abbas red lines per week of late and has begun to border on the side of laughably ridiculous except that Secretary Kerry is very likely to actually attempt to place any number of these Abbas Red Lines into the final draft agreement and expect Israel to commit to such lunacy.

 

So, what exactly can we expect to come of these talks and where is Secretary of State Kerry heading with these moribund talks? Thus far Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has discussed the proposed points with his advisors and the top generals from the IDF and included many of these individuals in the discussions with Secretary Kerry’s team. This has been particularly true about the team Secretary Kerry assembled under General John Allen to address Israeli security needs where the Prime Minister literally turned the entire discussion over to the IDF commanders and his Minister of Defense. Of course the main accomplishment this group has produced is that every time they make any recommendations all they appear to do is generate more Abbas Red Lines. Meanwhile, showing total disregard for all of the Abbas Red Lines, the Israeli side has been carrying on actual negotiations with all of the teams Secretary Kerry has assembled as if there really was a partner for peace on the other side. In the meantime Chairman Abbas has repeatedly stated those items he refuses to negotiate over and has rejected all of the proposals put forward by Secretary of State Kerry and all of his support teams.

 

So, what in the world could Secretary of State Kerry hope to accomplish with his planned “full force assault on Netanyahu to force him to agree to General Allen’s security plan and as many other final status issues he can squeeze out of him? The plan that Secretary Kerry is working under I suspect comes straight from the Oval Office and President Obama. Once agreements are forced from the Israeli side the plan is to then force Israel to meet each and every point that has been hammered out in the negotiations without any expectations or design to have the Palestinians meet a single item. They will force the Israelis to once again conduct evictions of as many settlements as they can force an agreement over and pull out all of the IDF forces, bases and equipment finishing a total disengagement from Judea and Samaria, West Bank. Once United States President Obama has Israeli agreements in hand he will force the Israelis to meet every item where the agreement has come from the current efforts which will set up the takeover of the rest of the Palestinian Authority areas by Hamas and other terrorist entities exactly as occurred in Gaza. None of the consequences will matter as President Obama and Secretary of State Kerry share their Nobel Peace Prize, or at least that is their dream. Sacrificing Israel will be a small price as far as these two nefarious political operators are concerned, as they will probably not see any difficulties that cross Israel’s path and even if they should, they will convince themselves it was well deserved, after all, Israel deserves whatever befalls them. That has become the mantra for Europe, the current administration in the United States and much of the leftist, liberal, intelligentsia, political action committees and NGOs. The one consequence which will inevitably come to pass and is the one most ignored and likely undesirable to those who condemn Israel for every problem in the world will be Israel responding to the first rocket which strikes a civilian airliner on approach, departure or taxiing at Ben Gurion Airport. It may be some other attack such as a rocket striking and destroying one of the larger buildings in Tel Aviv or a barrage aimed at northern Tel Aviv, a place where moneyed people who would be furious have some connections and sway, or any attack out of the east that causes Israelis to scream in horror and demand an end once and for all to the terror threat posed by Abbas and his Palestinian cohorts. The world will act shocked and aghast despite the fact that they all had a hand in setting up this scenario simply because they knew the Palestinians would never change and that Israel was reasonable and would work for peace as that is what most Israelis desire and value so very dearly, and so they took the easier route and pressured Israel till the pain became too much to bear. Once the cost of always having to sacrifice to make accommodations reaches the point that fury is unleashed because the price in human lives and suffering becomes unbearable, the resulting conflagration is never pretty. Some will regret the overt reaction in the aftermath but none will question its necessity. The chance that such could be the result of pushing Israel beyond the cusp should weigh heavily on those who carelessly keep pushing Israel to give just once more and peace will bloom, peace has never been the result; more death, destruction, and terrorism has always been the result and both Kerry and Obama know this and do not care. They should care for they will be the ones who forced things to go beyond any reasonable concern forcing a response in kind.

 

Beyond the Cusp

 

Why is Kerry Forcing Deal on Netanyahu which Abbas Rejected?

Currently the United States has Martin Indyk in Israel pressing IDF generals to not only accept the latest and touted as greatest plan for peace by forming a Palestinian State and sacrificing Israeli security in the process but to go forth to the Israeli media and regale them with the wondrous and splendid qualities and the benefits that will pour forth to Israel once they have withdrawn from Judea and Samaria and turned over the Jordan Valley to third party troops who will assure Israeli security just as well as UNIFIL has secured southern Lebanon from any Hezballah buildup. Yep, that is the bedtime story being sold to Israeli generals and leadership and what Secretary of State Kerry will be spending January, and more if necessary, shoving down Netanyahu’s throat come what may. What makes all of this so curious is that this is the plan that upon hearing the terms and other particulars of the plan, Mahmoud Abbas not only totally rejected the entirety of Kerry’s proposition, and held a press conference specifically to reject Kerry’s plan immediately after Kerry had returned to Jerusalem, but also called an emergency meeting of the Arab League so they too could totally reject the entirety of the Kerry Peace Plan which is a combination of the Arab Plan (originally called the Saudi Plan) with the Alon Plan (which was originally rejected by the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff who proposed a solution in which minimal Israeli requirements to achieve security as guaranteed by United Nations resolutions including United Nations Security Council Resolution 242). So, this whole affair begs the question of why are the United States administration officials pressing so hard to force Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, the top IDF generals, the members of the Prime Minister’s cabinet and many of the most popular and respected Ministers of the Knesset to accept this deal which the Palestinians and the entirety of the Arab world have completely and utterly rejected and refused all tenets of the plan?

 

The truth can be revealed as these incongruous efforts to force Israel to agree to a suicidal plan has become evident beyond any shadow of a doubt. President Obama, first off, has no love lost regarding Israel and would not lose any sleep over the complete annihilation of the Jewish state. President Obama also desires to earn a Nobel Peace Prize to match the first one he received simply for being elected President of the United States and the hope and change that they had in his momentous victory. The Nobel Prize Committee probably were shocked that a person other than an old white man of privilege was elected President in the United States thus President Obama had to be granted their highest prize, the Nobel Peace Prize. President realizes that if he can force the establishment of a Palestinian state then he may just win that second Nobel Peace Prize and will have definitely validated his receiving his first Nobel Peace Prize. President Obama realizes that he does not require Mahmoud Abbas’s signature or support of a peace plan that forms a Palestinian state. As long as the agreement which causes the formation of a Palestinian state restricts Israel from a defined area which will be considered to be the Palestinian state and this area relatively matches the general ideas and definitions that most believe is required to be considered Palestine, then President Obama has formed a Middle East peace, formed a Palestinian state, and made peace between the Arab world and Israel. It does not matter that in reality there is no peace and that all President Obama will have accomplished is to reset up the initial conditions for a replay of the unsuccessful Arab assault on Israel to, as Egypt President Nasser stated in late May of 1967, drive the Jews into the sea. President Obama will have set the playing field for the next Arab Israeli War and nothing will prevent that war from commencing within a few short years at most.

 

President Obama, Secretary of State Kerry, and special council Indyk all do not really care what Mahmoud Abbas desires as long as they can force the Israeli leadership to agree to sufficient suicidal concessions which the Palestinian leadership has demanded previously which will permit them to claim total success, present the United Nations Security Council with the agreement signed by Prime Minister Netanyahu and then join with the rest of the members, permanent and those assigned, of the Security Council in voting to admit Palestine to full membership in the United Nations. This would be followed almost instantly with a similar vote declaring the same Palestine as a full member of the United Nations. This would in turn be followed by close to two hundred nations recognizing Palestine with its capital city in East Jerusalem (while everybody will still claim that Tel Aviv is the Israeli capital by continuing to station their embassies in that city), its borders as the Jordan River and the Green Line (some may even go one step further and claim it reaches from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea replacing Israel) and nations will rush funds in aid to celebrate this wondrous event while businesses rush to build and form trade with this newest of nations.

 

It will not matter that many of these factories and offices placed in Palestine will be rejected as infidel exploiters and face terrorist strikes and bombings. What will matter is Israel has finally been forced to give the Palestinians their state and the horrid apartheid occupation has finally been ended. Of course President Obama will be hailed as the greatest and most effective diplomatic President in the history of the United States, no, the entire span of humankind. Mahmoud Abbas will have no choice but to accept that Palestine has been formed, recognized and now he can proceed to the next phase of the eradication of Israel by steps and start planning the next Arab war to destroy Israel. One can only hope that Abbas will face rejections and other difficulties in gathering together a force to finish the replacement of Israel with an Arab Muslim state. Unfortunately, I fear that such a task may be the easiest task Abbas will ever face as it is likely that the Arab and Muslim leaders of the world will be knocking at his door offering to aid him, for a small concession, of course. All will desire to take on the glory of being the new Saladin.

 

Beyond the Cusp

 

Why Obama and the United States are Able to Ignore Syria

President Obama has been attempting to completely ignore the horrors continuing in Syria from even before he attempted to use the Syrian civil war to sound tough on the world stage which backfired so completely revealing the Emperor had no clothes. President Obama figured that if he set a red line that Syria would never dare to test his resolve as doing so could potentially bring the full strength and power of the United States military down on al-Assad. What President Obama did not figure on was that Syrian strongman Bashir al-Assad did not care if the United States delivered even more damage on his nation which he has been rapidly destroying to the point that now they are bombing the ruble in many places. The destruction in Syria has been so complete that great swaths of that country will not be worth taking possession of once the war ends, if it ever does, as there is almost no infrastructure or structures left undamaged to make possession worth a plug nickel. The United States got off the Red Line hook when Secretary of State Kerry made a speech suggesting that the Syrian chemical weapons be destroyed. Hearing this somewhat sarcastic and snide comment from Secretary Kerry, Russian President Putin saw an inexpensive way to knock the United States down a few pegs and allow Russia to take the limelight and bask in relative glory for the small price of destroying Syrian chemical weapons. President Putin likely talked with Syrian dictator Bashir al-Assad and told him that Russia could take the Americans up on the Secretary of States invitation and Syria could forget about any American military threat simply by allowing Russia to arrange to destroy the Syrian chemical weapons. Assad probably jumped at this deal as he has more than sufficient conventional weapons to destroy the rest of Syria ten times over. This left the United States completely removed from having any influence or threat against Syria and Bashir al-Assad freeing Assad up to do whatever he found necessary to retain his rule even if he was left ruling a large area of rubble.

 

So, why is it that President Obama and the military hierarchy need not fear any results which may result when and if the civil war in Syria finally ends? Would it not be considered a threat to the United States if al-Qaeda deposed al-Assad and took control of Syria and turned it into an Islamic terror state complete as staging and training grounds for terror attacks including attack comparable to 9/11? Normally that would be a great and threatening situation which should cause the leadership of the United States many sleepless nights. If such a condition were to exist almost anywhere else in the Muslim world such a condition would send shivers down the spines of those tasked with keeping America safe from such threats. There is a saving grace which makes Syria a problem which the United States can totally ignore. Syria sits on the northern border of Israel which cannot afford another terrorist state on their border, and especially one that is beyond anyone’s ability to influence, let alone control. As horrible and undesirable as an al-Assad may be, even a monster as he is preferable to a terrorist state which poses a threat to every nation in the world which does not bow to their threats and demands.

 

There will be some who would bring up the idea that had we supported the Free Syrian Army secularists earlier in the Syrian civil war then we could have had a secular and democratic Syria and the Islamists would have never had a chance to become such a threat. The truth is there never was an actual secular Free Syrian Army except on paper. The jihadist Islamist forces invented the entity called the Free Syria Army which actually did have some young idealists just as in Egypt but no real depth or numbers. The idea of a secular force was necessary in order to gain funding and weapons from the West, particularly the United States. The truth about the Free Syrian Army was revealed this past week when the warehouse which held much of their Western supplies was overrun by the Jihadists and there was almost no resistance to their assault which was evidenced by the fact that the total loss of life in the battle to take their main warehouse totaled the unbelievable total of five souls. That was all that existed of the Free Syrian Army guarding and manning their main base and warehouse which contained virtually their entire collection of aid from the Western world.

 

Just as in Egypt and Tunisia where what were touted as secular revolts that would result in Western style governance resulted in Muslim Brotherhood controlled governments and resulted in Islamic Sharia governance. Egypt escaped this tyranny as the people did object to the lack of results and the continued economic stagnation which was taken up by the Egyptian military which reestablished a military governance in Egypt. In Tunisia the people threatened mass demonstrations and unrest which appears might result in new election which might have the possibility to result in a governance that will serve the people. That remains to be seen as is the final result in Egypt. Egypt may be resolved by having a military controlled governance which was exactly what the Mubarak government had been. One of the main reasons that the Mubarak government fell was due to the lack of support from the military which felt betrayed when Mubarak announced that he would appoint his son to follow him as President of Egypt instead of allowing the military to choose the next President. Egypt has gone full circle from Mubarak, a military backed President who revolted trying to set up a family hierarchy like the Pharaohs of old thus losing the support of the military. That loss of support resulted in the successful revolution deposing Mubarak which led to the Muslim Brotherhood stepping in and installing themselves as the new Pharaohs. The people deplored the Islamist governance as it was no different than Mubarak. This led to the military executing a coup removing President Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood and reinstalling a military backed government, just as Mubarak was and Sadat before him.

 

Whether the military will return power to the people through the ballot box remains to be seen and if such should be the result, then what if the Salafists or Muslim Brotherhood should once again prove victorious in an election. The unrest in Egypt may be a long way from over. Syria is the same as Egypt except that al-Assad never left power and the Syrian military has thus far kept him in power, for now. Should al-Assad win out then the former status quo returns with all the potential threats in place, but should the terrorist prevail then there would be a terrorist state bordering Israel, a situation which Israel can ill afford and most certainly work to neuter such a dangerous threat. Israel is the security blanket which protects the United States from whatever result is produced by the Syrian civil war, the same Israel that President Obama and Secretary of State Kerry appear determined to destroy with a force and suicidal peace which established a Palestinian State by returning Israel to her Green Line as a border, the same border which enticed the Six Day War attack by her neighbors and the same border which has been named the Auschwitz Borders. Some events make absolutely no sense and the United States doing all in their power to neuter Israel, the sole protection against a terrorist owned and run Syria, is preeminent in the no sense category.

 

Beyond the Cusp