13 thoughts on “Dennis Ross Prepares U.S. Goodie Basket for Bibi in Return for Freeze Extension – Tikun Olam תיקון עולם إصلاح العالم
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  1. The Palestinians should refuse to talk till after the mid-term elections are over. Why should they participate in a dutch auction for the Zionist vote. Tell Obama, thanks but no thanks.

  2. The goodies:

    – release of Jonathan Pollard
    – backing Israel’s annexation of the Jordan valley
    – future vetoes in the UN security council in behalf of Israel
    – additional aid beyond the $30 billion defense plan
    – $205 million Iron Dome gift (which has ballooned to $422 million)
    – $3 billion missile shield program called David’s Sling
    – $2.75 billion for F35 jets
    – $1.5 billion in contracts for parts for those jets
    – $2 billion in jet fuel

    all for two months of not REALLY freezing settlements.

    1. And according to the leaker of this report Ross associate, David Makovsky, after the two months the US will promise never to bother Israel again about freezing settlements!! Obama is displaying a type of audacity that I would have never thought to hope for.

      http://www.jpost.com/International/Article.aspx?id=189744

      “US President Barack Obama has requested that Israel extend the West Bank settlement construction moratorium by two months. In return the US “will not ask for a moratorium extension beyond sixty days,” according to David Makovsky from the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a close associate to Dennis Ross and Obama’s Middle East adviser, Army Radio reported Thursday.”

  3. Yoy write: “It’s times like this when I wish the common citizen could vote on whether Dennis Ross should be able to wield such power.”

    If Ross has “such power”, then I fail to understand how decision-making occurs at this level. Can Ross deliver this proposal without Obama’s explicit approval? If not, and if you are right about its obvious deficiencies, how does this get sold to a supposedly intellectually-incisive president? Does Ross (pragmatically speaking) have “control” on these issues? I agree with you, but fail to understand the dynamic at hand.

    1. Obama can’t master every subject. He relies on aides to do the heavy lifting esp. around such complicated subjects as the Israel-Arab conflict. The fact that Ross has lots of previous experience in the area gives him a leg up over everyone else. The fact that he has Obama’s ear is deeply troubling & indicates U.S. policy almost has to fail.

  4. Interesting question is why bibi doesn’t want it – it seems like a godsend. He gets all the goodies, gives almost nothing back AND he’ll get to say that he did everything he could for peace.

    1. He’s holding out for more goodies. Or less of a freeze. In the end he’ll get 50 billions worth of guns, plus US backing for all of Israel’s positions for a one-week “freeze”. Did I say one week? Why not one day? Shouldn’t take more than that for Abbas to accept all the Israeli positions the US will unconditionally back at that point.

      Seriously, now. This whole thing looks like a scam to me: Less about actual political goals, more about finding an excuse to shove lots of money Israel’s way.

  5. Not to worry Netanyahu has no intentions of any additional freezes. Lieberman has taken care of that, and Barak is too much of a glutton to let go of his chair (he knows it’s the ONLY way he’ll keep it)
    Further do you think ANY palestinian leader will accept to have the IDF sitting on his ass NO MATTER WHO GUARANTEES IT, riiiiiite
    Bottom line, there is nothing to see here folks, move on.

  6. This package makes no sense. I don’t believe these reports. The Palestinians will NEVER agree to an Israeli presence anywhere over the pre-67 lines. How can Obama promise such a thing, unless he is lying.

    The article points out how focusing on the settlements was a big mistake. Apparently they thought that they could turn US Jewry against Israel on this issue, and then once the Israeli felt isolated, they would capitulate on all other issues. This proves once again that people “at the top” DON’T really know more than anyone else and certainly don’t have any real understanding of the Arab/Israeli conflict.

  7. Daniel Levy provided the money quote: get past the midterm elections. That’s what this is about, nothing else, least of all the Palestinians. If the Obama administration can make themselves look like they brought the parties back to the table (and remain there until after the election) by extracting, with tongs of fire, such a Generous Concession from Bibi, now that will curry favour with liberal Jewish voters.
    At the same time, this would be the perfect reason for Bibi to refuse – like he would help campaign for a President B. Hussein Obama and an oh-so-pro-Palestinian Democratic majority in Congress when he could help it.

    I agree with Seymour above, suspend the talks until elections are over.

  8. The US concessions are really bubkis.

    Support in the UN? Come on. The US has always voted for Israel in the UN anyway. That’s a throwaway ‘concession’ if I ever heard of one.

    And as for the other so-called eyebrow raiser of allowing an Israeli military presence in the Jordan valley after creation of a Palestinian state, again, about as newsworthy as stale pita. Including Israel in the international force that will be created to demilitarize the new state has been repeated over and over again already for the last three months.

    Israel is just painting these things as huge concessions to make it look like they ‘won’ something in return for grudgingly extending the freeze.

    Israel always ‘wins’ every concession they make, just like they always ‘win’ every war, including the ones they lose badly.

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