Charting American Foreign Policy through "Shark Infested" Waters

The Zionist Shark on Patrol off of Sharm

And no... those are not "Mossad Sharks" in those waters.

They are the "Sharks" of Middle Eastern Diplomacy. Maybe though a minefield would be a better analogy as no matter what one does there are tricky "explosives" waiting with each step.

Either way, this week has featured the AIPAC Conference and a host of speeches from American Leaders as to what our course may take for the next few years.

Now first off we Secretary of State Kerry, who visited the troubled Egyptian Regime of Mahmoud Morsi reiterate the American commitment to the struggling Egyptian Government. This government headed by the Islamist government of the Muslim Brotherhood has been struggling with a number of different issues including crushing debt, an opposition that is seeking real domestic political reform, but also dealing with the issue of the rhetoric of the street and the Islamic Movement versus the realities of running a country. So far the U.S. in my opinion has acted as wisely as possible given all of the alternatives. And given that the U.S. right now is trying to build an effective alliance to counter Iranian Hegemony in the region seems to be on a prudent path.

Vice President Biden went on about this at the AIPAC Conference this week in Washington:

Vice President Joe Biden on Monday tried to end any questions pro-Israel activists have about President Barack Obama’s commitment to doing whatever necessary to block Iran’s nuclear program.

Obama’s policy “is to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. Period. Period. End of discussion,” Biden told attendees at the American-Israel Public Affairs Council conference in Washington. “Prevent. Not contain — prevent,” Biden added emphatically.

“Big nations can’t bluff and presidents of the United States cannot and do not bluff and President Barack Obama is not bluffing,” Biden declared, in what he said was a preview of remarks Obama will make during a trip to Israel scheduled for later this month. “We are not looking for war [but] all options, including military force, are on the table,” Biden said.

and talked about where Egypt fit into the equation..

We have no illusions -- we know how difficult this will be and how difficult it is. There’s been -- obviously been a dramatic change in Egypt. A lot of it has given us hope and a lot of it has given us pause, and a lot of it has caused fears in other quarters.  

 It’s not about us, but it profoundly affects us. We need to be invested in Egypt’s success and stability. The stable success of Egypt will translate into a stable region. We’re not looking at what’s happening in Egypt through rose-colored glasses. Again, our eyes are wide open. We have no illusions about the challenges that we face, but we also know this: <strong>There’s no legitimate alternative at this point to engagement </strong>(vb1 emphasis). 

and he is right... There is no legitimate alternative but to engage. What other alternative can there be. Were we to disengage or actively involve ourselves in Egypt's civil dispute we would face repercussions that would be detrimental to our interests at the current time. Like it or not, so far (despite any rhetoric), Egypt has been maintaining the Peace Treaty and has kept Hamas in check to a degree. Yes, there are some very disturbing stories coming out of Egypt about... well everything. That said, what is the alternative?

To not engage would be a disaster. Given events in the North around Syria and a potential Islamist Government there which would threaten not only Israel but Jordan as well, or in Lebanon where Hizbollah is gathering up what it can of Assad's "nasty" weaponry an unstable Egyptian regime would a nightmare that would create all kinds of problems again not only for Israel but for the KSA as well. Just imagine if the U.S. did not engage with the Morsi government. Who do you think would be in there in a heartbeat providing the Egyptians with everything they need? RIGHT... The Iranians (who by the way are arming and training Hamas - something that is pissing off the Egyptians).

So now, you would have the Egyptians / Iranians sitting in the Sinai, Hizbollah and Iran sitting in the North in Lebanon, Jihadis in Damascus putting pressure on Jordan. It would be a total "clusterfuck". How does that situation look now? With Egypt in check (and it has been so far) and the Canal in "friendly hands", The U.S. only has to worry about Syria and Lebanon as the last vestiges of Iranian Imperialist dreams.

Head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Robert Menendez (D-NJ) had this to say (which I think is extremely well said) in regards to Egypt:

The November 2012 Israeli military operation in Gaza is a reminder of the critical importance of Egypt as a mediator in the Arab World.

We should be focusing more of our efforts on keeping Egypt stable by helping a struggling Egyptian economy, which is the context in which I accept Secretary Kerry’s announcement over the weekend pledging $250 million in non-military assistance.

Still, we must be ever-vigilant in monitoring the situation. American security assistance to Egypt can’t be a blank check.

That’s why Congress made it abundantly clear – in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2012 – that US assistance to Egypt would be contingent upon upholding its 1979 Peace Treaty with Israel. That is our bottom line, and it will remain our bottom line when it comes to the US-Egyptian relationship.In short, for the good of the region — for the good of Israel, and for our own security interests – we must work with Egypt and help steer it in the right direction. (vb1 emphasis).

So stabilizing the area is one of the goals. The other is maintaining our strong support for our Israeli allies. And despite the troubles with budgeting the U.S. will rightly continue to support funding for Israel to continue to develop its missile defense systems. Meeting with outgoing Defense Minister Ehud Barak, new Secretary of Defense Hagel there was this:

WASHINGTON — US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel told his Israeli counterpart Ehud Barak Tuesday that while the US continues to believe there is still time to address the threat of Iran obtaining nuclear weapons through diplomacy, that window is closing.

In his first meeting with a foreign defense chief, the newly appointed Hagel expressed his strong commitment to Israel’s security, including maintaining Israel’s qualitative military edge and continued US support for missile and rocket defense systems in spite of fiscal constraints...

....Both leaders agreed that the United States-Israeli defense relationship has never been stronger than during the Obama administration and that both nations will continue this unprecedentedly close cooperation.

Now is this a course I as an American citizen can agree with? Definitely. I am not happy with what I see coming out of Egypt but, frankly I see (as Joe Biden so rightly says) no legitimate alternative, unless we want to crap out of the region, pick up our bags and go home. There is simply no way around it.

The most important thing for the region and for the U.S.A. is to continue our presence in a meaningful way and to make sure that Iran DOES NOT have the ability or means to threaten any of our friends and allies in the area.

Chuck Hagel and Fringe Disappointment

Yesterday after much Republican grandstanding, chest thumping and generally wasting everyone's time, Former Senator Chuck Hagel was voted through the Senate as Secretary of Defense. Immediately the fringe blogosphere went nuts.

We saw commentary from the fringe right like this:

And now, due to American Jewish progressive-left ideological blindness, we have the first openly anti-Semitic Secretary of Defense in modern times; a man who favors Iran and Hamas and Hezbollah over the Jews in the Middle East.

or like this:

Hagel is a whore for sale to the highest Arab and Persian bidder. Always has been. He's a narcissist who'd rather be hated than ignored. And of course he's that perfect mix of stupid leftist progressive and right wing Pat Buchanan racist.

and from the Fringe Left we get this:

Hagel now stands in the place of George Marshall, except that where Truman’s Secretary of State warned of fanaticism, now fanaticism has become internal to the US government as well as spreading over the Middle Eastern zones of the empire. Obama, freed from Truman’s burden of facing election, is also free to settle scores, including with his nemesis, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, who was dumb enough to have blatantly favored Mitt Romney for President—or was he rewarding the Republican for reaching new depths of servility when Romney pledged that on any matter involving Israel, he would phone Netanyahu and do whatever the PM told him to?

Now, personally I am not a big fan of Chuck Hagel, in this article, I explained that in my opinion Chuck Hagel won't really affect anything with regards to Israel or the Jewish People. My objection to Hagel comes from the fact that the President felt he needed to push a Conservative Republican into a fairly high level post when there were plenty of liberal Democrats (Joe Sestak, Jim Webb, Bob Kerrey, Wesley Clark, Michele Flournoy, to name a few) that were well qualified. As a Democrat, I didn't vote to see a person who had complained about the "Jewish Lobby" or who had made very problematic statements regarding the LGBT community, or who had an overall extremely conservative voting record, placed into high office in a Democratic Presidency.

The fact of the matter (to be blunt) is that the fringes on both sides will be very disappointed. For the lunatic Left, Hagel is not going to commence the bombing of Israel today, tomorrow, or any other day. U.S. policy towards Israel is what it is, and this President has committed us in both words and action to higher levels of security coordination with Israel than ever before. Whether he wants to or not, (and frankly I don't think he cares), Hagel is not going to, and doesn't have the power to change that. That is a policy decision made by the President. The Secretary of Defense doesn't get to make that policy. All he (or she) would get to do is carry out the orders of the President.

If one looks at Hagels record with regards to voting on issues concerning Israel, Hagel's record is certainly not indicative that he will be either the masked avenger on the Jews that the Hard Left wants, or that he will be ready to start shipping arms to Hamas next week like the Lunatic Right Fringe wants. In fact Hagel's voting record on Israel is pretty much standard fare for most American politicians.

Here are the actual facts regarding Sen. Hagels voting record  Some of which include:

• As a United States Senator, Chuck Hagel voted time and time again to provide $37.8 billion dollars of military and security assistance for Israel.
• Hagel cosponsored resolutions with Sen. Dianne Feinstein including "commitment[s] to a true and lasting solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict, based on the establishment of two states, living side by side in peace and security and with recognized borders" and calls on "Hamas... to recognize the State of Israel's right to exist."
• Chuck Hagel voted in favor of the Iran Missile Proliferation Sanctions Act of 1998⁴, the Iran Nonproliferation Act of 2000⁵, and the Iran Freedom Support Act of 2006⁶. He is skeptical of unilateral sanctions, but supports multilateral sanctions which we have seen, in concert with allies, put tremendeous pressure on Iran

But... that doesn't really matter. The overriding fact is that the Secretary of Defense simply does not make policy regarding our alliances or support for foreign nations or groups. That is the White House in conjunction with State. Hagel as Sec. Def. has to do what Pres. Obama tells him to do, and any policy decisions have to clear the White House. Simple fact.

Frankly, (and again I don't particularly support the choice of Hagel not that it matters now but....) is that Hagel was brought in to do two things and two things only. The first is to stand up for U.S. veterans and their rights. Hagel has done a good job of that throughout his career. The second is that the Pentagon is going to be and frankly needs to be cut to help with budget concerns. Hagel is a reasonable choice for that job. Hagel is not the Secretary of Defense for Israel, nor is he the Sec. Def. for only the Jewish People. Some people really need to understand that.Hagel IS  the Sec. Def. of all American People and as such he is responsible to the entire nation, not just one part of it.

OH and is Hagel the "worstest, most ebilz, Sec. of State ever for Israel, I think not.

How about Harry S. Truman's Sec. Def. James Forrestal who urged President to Truman to reject Partition in 1947 because it might "infuriate" the Arabs and then saying that Jews were too influential in pressing the American Gov't. Remind me again how that stopped the U.S. from voting for Partition.

Or what about Casper Weinberger of President Reagan's admin. You know, the REPUBLICAN administration where the President actually went to present honors on German SS unit graves, that administration. Here is a little something about Weinberger:

In contrast to other members of the Reagan cabinet known for their sympathy toward the Jewish state, including Secretary of State George Shultz and the president himself, Weinberger developed a reputation not only for opposing Israel’s interests directly but for seeking to prevent any action, including counter-terrorist operations, that might upset Arab allies of the United States (vb1 emphasis).  Until the Iran-Contra scandal broke in 1986, Weinberger was perhaps best known for orchestrating the sale of AWACS jets – the highly advanced airborne surveillance, command, and control system built by Boeing – to Saudi Arabia. Opposed by Israel and much of the American Jewish community, the Saudi AWACS deal generated enormous controversy.

So, I am not sure how we can really take the fringe seriously on either side as to their objections regarding Hagel. 

Either way, he was not my pick but now that he is in office, I say we judge him by what he actually does, NOT by what we think he may or may not do. Either way, the fanatics are going to be bummed out because their shrill cries (in support of or against) that he will be bombing Israel or sending gift baskets to open up our friendship with Hamas and Hizbollah simply won't come true and really have no basis in fact. As I said previously, Hagel's job is to watch over the U.S. Military in time when we will be paring it down and have a great deal of soldiers coming home from war.

How he does that will tell us what kind of American Secretary of Defense he will be.