Over the weekend, president Obama spoke before a crowd at AIPAC, the main political arm of those in the USA who support Israel. Not surprisingly, Obama tried to "explain" his speech calling for the 1967 lines as the starting place for negotiations. In his usual way, Obama started with a straw man. (I would call it a lie, but he is president of the USA, so I will use that euphemism.)
"There was nothing particularly original in my proposal; this basic framework for negotiations has long been the basis for discussions among the parties, including previous U.S. administrations. Since questions have been raised, let me repeat what I actually said on Thursday -- not what I was reported to have said. I said that the United States believes that negotiations should result in two states, with permanent Palestinian borders with Israel, Jordan, and Egypt, and permanent Israeli borders with Palestine. The borders of Israel and Palestine should be based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed swaps so that secure and recognized borders are established for both states. The Palestinian people must have the right to govern themselves, and reach their potential, in a sovereign and contiguous state."
So Obama starts by claiming he was misquoted. Of course, that is untrue. His words were repeated verbatim, and it is those words that led to the uproar.
Obama then goes on to repeat and reinforce the worst of what he said in his speech. When he spoke last week, he called for a contiguous Palestinian state. I was prepared to overlook that statement as just another misstatement by Obama, but after the uproar about the statement he repeated it to AIPAC. Let's be clear what a contiguous Palestinian state means: The 1967 lines had two separate areas of Arab control which were the West Bank and Gaza. If these two are joined so that there is a contiguous Palestinian state, it means that Israel must be cut into two pieces. If the 1967 lines are considered indefensible by the Israelis, just image how much worse it would be if there were also a corridor of Palestinian land across Israel from which an attack could be mounted.
After repeating his position, Obama has the audacity to say that this has been the basis for negotiations for many years. So tell me, where is the quote where any American president, even Jimmy Carter, said that the 1967 lines should be the starting place for negotiations? Obviously, if this is nothing new, the people who write what Obama reads off of his Teleprompter could have put in at least one quote from a former president. They did not and they could not since no president has ever said this before.
Hopefully, the American people and particularly those who support Israel will not be taken in by Obama's lies. America deserves a president who has the audacity to tell the truth.
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