President Obama is back from his trip to Israel and Jordan. He did a lot of sightseeing tours. He went to Petra. He saw the Dead Sea Scrolls. He went to memorials and museums. He talked a lot with various leaders. He met with Netanyahu, Peres, Abbas, and others. He gave a lot of speeches. He got an award. But a fair question would be to ask why did he go? What was the purpose of the trip?
Look, there is nothing wrong with talking to the Israelis, Palestinians and Jordanians. In fact, it is a good thing to do. But why should the president travel thousands of miles and spend millions of dollars if there is no point to the trip? In the past, presidential trips like this have been the capstone of a lengthy process. First, American diplomats engage with the countries involved to discuss issues of importance that need resolution. These negotiations are brought to the point where they can be resolved by treaty or, at least, to the point where a final push by the leaders of the countries could bring meaningful results. This trip did not even bring an agreement to exchange holiday recipes. It was purely a photo op.
The lack of purpose for the trip is so blatant, that it makes me wonder if there really was some secret agenda that was discussed. Was some agreement hashed out with regard to stopping the Iranian nuclear program? Was there a pact arranged for the final removal of Assad in Syria? I don't think so. Indeed, it just seems as if Obama got tired of campaigning here in the USA, so he dicided to go campaign in the Middle East instead.
All things considered, a trip about nothing is not so terrible. After all, Obama could have actually done something, and we all know how that would be likely to turn out.
Look, there is nothing wrong with talking to the Israelis, Palestinians and Jordanians. In fact, it is a good thing to do. But why should the president travel thousands of miles and spend millions of dollars if there is no point to the trip? In the past, presidential trips like this have been the capstone of a lengthy process. First, American diplomats engage with the countries involved to discuss issues of importance that need resolution. These negotiations are brought to the point where they can be resolved by treaty or, at least, to the point where a final push by the leaders of the countries could bring meaningful results. This trip did not even bring an agreement to exchange holiday recipes. It was purely a photo op.
The lack of purpose for the trip is so blatant, that it makes me wonder if there really was some secret agenda that was discussed. Was some agreement hashed out with regard to stopping the Iranian nuclear program? Was there a pact arranged for the final removal of Assad in Syria? I don't think so. Indeed, it just seems as if Obama got tired of campaigning here in the USA, so he dicided to go campaign in the Middle East instead.
All things considered, a trip about nothing is not so terrible. After all, Obama could have actually done something, and we all know how that would be likely to turn out.
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