.Gaza is the smoke; Iran is the fire
Cal and Bob agree that peace in the Middle East hinges more on Iran’s nuclear threat than the ongoing battle between Hamas and Israel. Obama’s first test in this region could set the course for years to come.
Cal Thomas is a conservative columnist. Bob Beckel is a liberal Democratic strategist. But as longtime friends, they can often find common ground on issues that lawmakers in Washington cannot. They co-wrote the book Common Ground: How to Stop the Partisan War That Is Destroying America.
(Confrontation: A Palestinian woman shouts at an Israeli soldier, protesting the bombing of Gaza / Jaafar Ashtiyeh, AFP/Getty Images)
Today:Crisis in the Middle East.
Bob: In our last column, Cal — the one about New Year's predictions — you noted that Barack Obama would face an international crisis early on in his administration. He hasn't yet taken the oath of office, but you're already right. The Israel/Hamas battle in and around the Gaza Strip has grown into a major confrontation that will test his administration right away. Hamas started the fight with indiscriminate missile attacks on southern Israel, and the Israelis seem intent on ending the fight once and for all. A U.S. president can count on dealing with Israel and her enemies battling; it's as predictable as the sun rising and birds chirping.
Today:Crisis in the Middle East.
Bob: In our last column, Cal — the one about New Year's predictions — you noted that Barack Obama would face an international crisis early on in his administration. He hasn't yet taken the oath of office, but you're already right. The Israel/Hamas battle in and around the Gaza Strip has grown into a major confrontation that will test his administration right away. Hamas started the fight with indiscriminate missile attacks on southern Israel, and the Israelis seem intent on ending the fight once and for all. A U.S. president can count on dealing with Israel and her enemies battling; it's as predictable as the sun rising and birds chirping.
Cal: Unfortunately, this won't be Obama's only international crisis. Perhaps not since Franklin Roosevelt, who was handed the Great Depression and a growing threat from Nazi Germany, has an incoming president faced so many immediate challenges. I don't envy him.
Bob: No kidding!
Cal: Some of Obama's top aides have said he intends to make Middle East peace a "priority." Good luck with that. So many presidents have entered that swamp, including President Bush, and have nothing to show for it but frustration. That's because neither America, nor any other country or world body, can reverse the religious doctrine taught to several generations that Allah considers Jews less than human and wants them dead and Israel destroyed. How does one negotiate with people who embrace such beliefs?
Bob: Not every Muslim in the Mideast embraces those beliefs. There are indications that younger Palestinians are not as wedded to the destruction of Israel. One reason Hamas agreed to a six-month cease-fire with Israel prior to the current violence was because people in Gaza were feeling the effects of sanctions put in place after Hamas won the 2006 elections. That has nothing to do with Allah.
Cal: That so-called truce was used by Hamas to dig tunnels through which they smuggled fighters, weapons and ammunition. Members of Hamas and their terrorist cousins are the illegitimate sons of the Nazis whose job the terrorists think they have been commissioned by their God to finish.
Bob: What about the Israeli response, though, Cal? Frankly the amount of bombing is disproportionate to the number of attacks by Hamas. Should the United States be encouraging this relentless barrage, in which it appears many Palestinian civilians are being killed?
Cal: So if you kill two or three Israelis per day, that is proportionate? The terrorists deliberately hide among civilians knowing what the world's reaction will be when Israel strikes back. This is a familiar strategy, and the Palestinians effectively exploit the news media's portrayal of these retaliatory attacks. Do you think for one minute that the United States would worry about disproportionate attacks if terrorists lobbed missiles at U.S. cities from across the Mexican border? Of course not. We'd annihilate them and send a message. We'd make the Israelis look restrained, and rightly so.
Bob: You're probably right, but what's this all mean for the United States and the greater Middle East? As you correctly noted, every U.S. president dances this dance. Mideast peace, honest broker, blah blah blah. How do we get past this Groundhog Day situation?
Cal: The United States needs to continue as an honest broker, but doing so does not mean that Hamas and Israel are equals. They're not militarily or, certainly, morally. There's no equivalency. Even so, Obama needs to keep his eye on the bigger picture, and that means Iran — the greatest threat not only to the region, but to the world.
Bob: So what should the Obama administration do that hasn't been tried already?
Cal: There is no hope as long as Israel's enemies believe their God wants them to kill Jews. War may not be the best answer, but it can at least wound the terrorists and frustrate their objectives. Instead of taking a Jimmy Carter-like approach and embracing those, such as Hamas, who employ terrorist tactics, the Obama team ought to give Israel a free hand to wipe out those who threaten her. It should then support a declaration that there will be no more concessions until these groups not only cease fire, but disarm.
Bob: What about Iran?
Cal: Then it must come up with a plan for dealing with Iran, which is supplying Hamas with Russian-made rockets and other weapons. Peace through strength. Ronald Reagan, whom Obama has had kind words for, understood this. Let's hope our president-elect does, too. Strength is the one thing Israel's enemies, and ours, respect.
Bob: Yes, the Obama administration should encourage Israel to aggressively defend itself, but the U.S. must — at least publicly — maintain a safe distance from the Israelis so that once the dust settles, we can bring both sides to the table. The Bush administration has been too closely aligned with Israel, and as such, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's trips to the region were about as fruitful as an orange grove in Canada. Obama and incoming secretary of State Hillary Clinton have an opening here. Israel has two weeks to hammer Hamas and punish them for their provocations. But come Jan. 20, real peace overtures must go forward. The loser, if there is some sort of agreement, would be Iran.
Cal: This all really does come back to Iran. There are few options with that regime: Either the U.S. finds a way, with our allies, to pressure Iran into abandoning nukes, or Israel will have to bomb Iranian nuclear facilities. If Israel is forced to do so, any hope for a comprehensive Mideast peace will be set back decades. The Obama administration should not go as far as encouraging Israel to try to control Gaza. If Gaza explodes in the months ahead and becomes a full-scale battle, the United States will have little hope of rallying international support against Iran.
Bob: You're right. That's why, as Obama has suggested, we need a vigorous diplomacy while not removing other options from the table.
Cal: None of Israel's many concessions have brought it any closer to a peace settlement. I am convinced each concession has made the terrorists want more. Let them fight it out. Diplomacy might work after one side scores a decisive victory or all sides are exhausted.
Bob: If only I could believe there would be a decisive victory, but it is hard to see how. Cal, you and I agree that the Obama foreign policy should not be weak-kneed and simply about making nice. And I don't think we'll get that with the team he has assembled. But we also agree that though Gaza is today's crisis, Iran is the crisis that awaits us in years to come and must be the focus of any action in the region right now. We have a strong national security reason to keep nukes out of Iranian hands. If Israel attacks Iran, the few moderate Mideast countries that support an Israeli/Palestinian accord will desert the peace process. What say you?
Cal: We may ultimately have to live with a nuclear Iran, using a deterrent strategy similar to the one employed against the Soviet Union. But if Iran acquires nukes, let the word go forth that an attack by Iran on Israel will be considered an attack on the United States, prompting an immediate and disastrous (for Iran) response. President Barack Obama would have to make that decision. But he must enter the Middle East from a position of strength, not weakness. He must remember that his entry into the Gaza crisis is his only chance to make a first impression. I know that I speak for all Americans in wishing him the best in this historic endeavor.
USAToday
Cal Thomas is a conservative columnist. Bob Beckel is a liberal Democratic strategist. But as longtime friends, they can often find common ground on issues that lawmakers in Washington cannot. They co-wrote the book Common Ground: How to Stop the Partisan War That Is Destroying America.
(Confrontation: A Palestinian woman shouts at an Israeli soldier, protesting the bombing of Gaza / Jaafar Ashtiyeh, AFP/Getty Images)
Today:Crisis in the Middle East.
Bob: In our last column, Cal — the one about New Year's predictions — you noted that Barack Obama would face an international crisis early on in his administration. He hasn't yet taken the oath of office, but you're already right. The Israel/Hamas battle in and around the Gaza Strip has grown into a major confrontation that will test his administration right away. Hamas started the fight with indiscriminate missile attacks on southern Israel, and the Israelis seem intent on ending the fight once and for all. A U.S. president can count on dealing with Israel and her enemies battling; it's as predictable as the sun rising and birds chirping.
Today:Crisis in the Middle East.
Bob: In our last column, Cal — the one about New Year's predictions — you noted that Barack Obama would face an international crisis early on in his administration. He hasn't yet taken the oath of office, but you're already right. The Israel/Hamas battle in and around the Gaza Strip has grown into a major confrontation that will test his administration right away. Hamas started the fight with indiscriminate missile attacks on southern Israel, and the Israelis seem intent on ending the fight once and for all. A U.S. president can count on dealing with Israel and her enemies battling; it's as predictable as the sun rising and birds chirping.
Cal: Unfortunately, this won't be Obama's only international crisis. Perhaps not since Franklin Roosevelt, who was handed the Great Depression and a growing threat from Nazi Germany, has an incoming president faced so many immediate challenges. I don't envy him.
Bob: No kidding!
Cal: Some of Obama's top aides have said he intends to make Middle East peace a "priority." Good luck with that. So many presidents have entered that swamp, including President Bush, and have nothing to show for it but frustration. That's because neither America, nor any other country or world body, can reverse the religious doctrine taught to several generations that Allah considers Jews less than human and wants them dead and Israel destroyed. How does one negotiate with people who embrace such beliefs?
Bob: Not every Muslim in the Mideast embraces those beliefs. There are indications that younger Palestinians are not as wedded to the destruction of Israel. One reason Hamas agreed to a six-month cease-fire with Israel prior to the current violence was because people in Gaza were feeling the effects of sanctions put in place after Hamas won the 2006 elections. That has nothing to do with Allah.
Cal: That so-called truce was used by Hamas to dig tunnels through which they smuggled fighters, weapons and ammunition. Members of Hamas and their terrorist cousins are the illegitimate sons of the Nazis whose job the terrorists think they have been commissioned by their God to finish.
Bob: What about the Israeli response, though, Cal? Frankly the amount of bombing is disproportionate to the number of attacks by Hamas. Should the United States be encouraging this relentless barrage, in which it appears many Palestinian civilians are being killed?
Cal: So if you kill two or three Israelis per day, that is proportionate? The terrorists deliberately hide among civilians knowing what the world's reaction will be when Israel strikes back. This is a familiar strategy, and the Palestinians effectively exploit the news media's portrayal of these retaliatory attacks. Do you think for one minute that the United States would worry about disproportionate attacks if terrorists lobbed missiles at U.S. cities from across the Mexican border? Of course not. We'd annihilate them and send a message. We'd make the Israelis look restrained, and rightly so.
Bob: You're probably right, but what's this all mean for the United States and the greater Middle East? As you correctly noted, every U.S. president dances this dance. Mideast peace, honest broker, blah blah blah. How do we get past this Groundhog Day situation?
Cal: The United States needs to continue as an honest broker, but doing so does not mean that Hamas and Israel are equals. They're not militarily or, certainly, morally. There's no equivalency. Even so, Obama needs to keep his eye on the bigger picture, and that means Iran — the greatest threat not only to the region, but to the world.
Bob: So what should the Obama administration do that hasn't been tried already?
Cal: There is no hope as long as Israel's enemies believe their God wants them to kill Jews. War may not be the best answer, but it can at least wound the terrorists and frustrate their objectives. Instead of taking a Jimmy Carter-like approach and embracing those, such as Hamas, who employ terrorist tactics, the Obama team ought to give Israel a free hand to wipe out those who threaten her. It should then support a declaration that there will be no more concessions until these groups not only cease fire, but disarm.
Bob: What about Iran?
Cal: Then it must come up with a plan for dealing with Iran, which is supplying Hamas with Russian-made rockets and other weapons. Peace through strength. Ronald Reagan, whom Obama has had kind words for, understood this. Let's hope our president-elect does, too. Strength is the one thing Israel's enemies, and ours, respect.
Bob: Yes, the Obama administration should encourage Israel to aggressively defend itself, but the U.S. must — at least publicly — maintain a safe distance from the Israelis so that once the dust settles, we can bring both sides to the table. The Bush administration has been too closely aligned with Israel, and as such, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's trips to the region were about as fruitful as an orange grove in Canada. Obama and incoming secretary of State Hillary Clinton have an opening here. Israel has two weeks to hammer Hamas and punish them for their provocations. But come Jan. 20, real peace overtures must go forward. The loser, if there is some sort of agreement, would be Iran.
Cal: This all really does come back to Iran. There are few options with that regime: Either the U.S. finds a way, with our allies, to pressure Iran into abandoning nukes, or Israel will have to bomb Iranian nuclear facilities. If Israel is forced to do so, any hope for a comprehensive Mideast peace will be set back decades. The Obama administration should not go as far as encouraging Israel to try to control Gaza. If Gaza explodes in the months ahead and becomes a full-scale battle, the United States will have little hope of rallying international support against Iran.
Bob: You're right. That's why, as Obama has suggested, we need a vigorous diplomacy while not removing other options from the table.
Cal: None of Israel's many concessions have brought it any closer to a peace settlement. I am convinced each concession has made the terrorists want more. Let them fight it out. Diplomacy might work after one side scores a decisive victory or all sides are exhausted.
Bob: If only I could believe there would be a decisive victory, but it is hard to see how. Cal, you and I agree that the Obama foreign policy should not be weak-kneed and simply about making nice. And I don't think we'll get that with the team he has assembled. But we also agree that though Gaza is today's crisis, Iran is the crisis that awaits us in years to come and must be the focus of any action in the region right now. We have a strong national security reason to keep nukes out of Iranian hands. If Israel attacks Iran, the few moderate Mideast countries that support an Israeli/Palestinian accord will desert the peace process. What say you?
Cal: We may ultimately have to live with a nuclear Iran, using a deterrent strategy similar to the one employed against the Soviet Union. But if Iran acquires nukes, let the word go forth that an attack by Iran on Israel will be considered an attack on the United States, prompting an immediate and disastrous (for Iran) response. President Barack Obama would have to make that decision. But he must enter the Middle East from a position of strength, not weakness. He must remember that his entry into the Gaza crisis is his only chance to make a first impression. I know that I speak for all Americans in wishing him the best in this historic endeavor.
USAToday
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