Sunday, March 21, 2010

"Israel...seen as the problem"

The Anti-Defamation League, known for defending Israel's interests in the United States by raising antisemitism awareness, attacked General David Petraeus earlier this week. Out of all the statements to come out of Israel's attempt to bully the U.S., this action shocked me the most.


*NOTE- As with most counter-arguements devoid of any fact or intellectual merit, to avoid the "hate card" I will say up front that I am not antisemitic. I simply do not place the security of any nation before the security and welfare of my own.

You can read the full statement here.

Gen. Petraeus has simply erred in linking the challenges faced by the U.S. and coalition forces in the region to a solution of the Israeli-Arab conflict, and blaming extremist activities on the absence of peace and the perceived U.S. favoritism for Israel.  This linkage is dangerous and counterproductive.

Whenever the Israeli-Arab conflict is made a focal point, Israel comes to be seen as the problem.  If only Israel would stop settlements, if only Israel would talk with Hamas, if only Israel would make concessions on refugees, if only it would share Jerusalem, everything in the region would then fall into line.

This is propaganda in its purest form; truth twisted to advance a political agenda. There are only four sentences in which I quoted so I will address each individual one.

Gen. Petraeus has simply erred in linking the challenges faced by the U.S. and coalition forces in the region to a solution of the Israeli-Arab conflict, and blaming extremist activities on the absence of peace and the perceived U.S. favoritism for Israel.

I would like the ADL to identify an insurgent or terrorist group that does not link the challenges faced by the U.S. forces to perceived U.S.

This linkage is dangerous and counterproductive.

This linkage is dangerous and counterproductive for Israel. Unfortunately, it is rooted in more fact that this statement.

Whenever the Israeli-Arab conflict is made a focal point, Israel comes to be seen as the problem.

Suffocating a man in the hotel of a foreign country using a falsified passport of an individual belonging to a supposed "ally" will add to this perspective.


If only Israel would stop settlements, if only Israel would talk with Hamas, if only Israel would make concessions on refugees, if only it would share Jerusalem, everything in the region would then fall into line.

These are three requests being asked by nearly every nation in the world, all rejected by Israel.


In order to better understand our takfiri enemy, we need to understand the messages that resonate with a moderate audience. It it their solutions that are extreme, not always the perspectives. The last word goes to al Qaeda as they demonstrate on video how they manipulate American policies to remain a relevant opposition terrorist group.