By DAVID RUBIN, INN—
The post-Gaza war period has seen some disturbing statements and actions by the United States political leadership that call into serious question its reliability, as the leader of the free world and as a trusted ally of Israel.
The American air attacks on the Islamic State (otherwise known as ISIS, ISIL or IS) savages in support of the relatively pro-Western Kurds and other minorities in Iraq are positive, if somewhat insufficient, and are continuing, but contradictory and conspicuous lack of action against ISIS has been revealed in Syria. On that front, the Americans have been reluctant to offend President Obama’s close confidant Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, whose repressive anti-Kurd (not to mention anti-Israel) policies are well-known.
Closer to home, the latest evidence that Uncle Sam can no longer be counted on is its reaction to the first meeting of the Palestinian Authority (PA) unity government in Gaza. The Hamas-Fatah leadership meeting was praised by U.S. State Department Spokesperson Jen Psaki as “a positive step”. So that we won’t doubt that its words will also be followed by actions, the Obama administration has already pledged approximately $118 million to rebuild Gaza after Hamas’s latest terror war on Israel. The stated rationale is that the money won’t go to Hamas, but will instead go through the PA “government of technocrats”.
Lest we naively assume that America’s political leadership truly believes this malarkey, it should be pointed out that a little déjà vu can be learned from:
RAMALLAH, December 7, 2006 (WAFA) – President Mahmoud Abbas said Thursday that “our goal to end the current crisis is to form a national technocrat government whose concern would be ending the siege imposed on the Palestinian people.”
Been there, done that, and hopefully, we Israelis won’t be fooled again. In the succeeding seven plus years, Abbas’ “government of technocrats” has efficiently handed out hundreds of millions of dollars to the terrorists and their families, with a technocratic efficiency that would have made Adolph Eichmann proud. And mind you, Mahmoud Abbas is an equal opportunity employer – his funds are efficiently disbursed by his technocrats, not just to Fatah terrorists, but also to terrorists from Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and any other terrorist organization that is active in the PA autonomous territories.
Whether the Americans believe that the Hamas-Fatah terrorist authority can be trusted is not the question that we need to be asking. The answer to that question should by now be quite obvious. The more troubling question that nobody wants to ask is whether we can trust the Americans. Yes, the Iron Dome defensive system, partially funded by the United States, has saved many lives and for that we are grateful to the Americans for their financial support. However, when it comes to actual policy, Obama has not been on Israel’s side, and has in fact stood with Israel’s bitter enemies.
If Israel were to suddenly announce its support for ISIS, Americans would certainly, and correctly, feel betrayed. Similarly, the consistent American support for Israel’s enemies Hamas, Fatah, and Islamic Jihad is an ongoing act of betrayal of a loyal ally, and we shouldn’t pretend otherwise.
It will cause some friction and will perhaps, inadvertently, hurt the chances of some Democrats in the mid-term elections, but such a betrayal of a loyal American ally should be emphasized and denounced publically.