FLAME asks “How can Obama promote Middle East peace talks in the midst of a Palestinian civil war?”

Here’s the answer from Jonathan Schanzer:

President-elect Barack Obama’s refrain of “change” has become a source of inspiration to many American Jews who wish to see Palestinian-Israeli peace talks assume greater importance as compared to the last eight years under President Bush. They have been further buoyed by the fact that Dennis Ross, the former Clinton administration Middle East negotiator and now Obama adviser, recently launched a media offensive to lay the groundwork for regional diplomacy.

While peace is in everyone’s interest, American Jewry should be warned that it will be more difficult to achieve than ever. As if things weren’t complicated enough, new challenges stem from the lack of a Palestinian interlocutor. Indeed, Hamas and Fatah—the two largest Palestinian factions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip—are now engaged in a bitter civil war. As long as Hamas and Fatah remain two non-governments ruling two non-states, Middle East diplomacy simply cannot succeed.

As I note in my new book, “Hamas vs. Fatah: The Struggle For Palestine,” the Hamas-Fatah conflict dates back to the outbreak of the first intifada of 1987. Amid the violence Hamas, an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, challenged Yasser Arafat’s Fatah faction with competing leaflets and guidance on the streets of the West Bank and Gaza.

By 1993, the political rivalry gave way to sharp disagreements and occasional violence over Fatah’s engagement in peace talks with Israel. During the subsequent Oslo years, prompted and armed by Washington and Jerusalem, Fatah cracked down on the suicide-bombing Hamas organization. Quietly, a Palestinian civil war was brewing.

After the peace process collapsed in 2000, Arafat launched the ill-fated second intifada in which both Hamas and Fatah temporarily joined forces against Israel. While Israel responded with force against both factions, its strikes against Arafat’s power structure—the Fatah-controlled Palestinian Authority—led to the effective dissolution of the quasi-government created by the Oslo process. The territories became lawless. Clans, families and tribes assumed the role of government.

When Arafat died in November 2004, Mahmoud Abbas succeeded him. While Abbas had long been Arafat’s deputy, he lacked Arafat’s charisma. He, too, failed to gain control of the territories.

Chaos and confusion worsened after the Palestinians held elections in January 2006. The Palestinians overwhelmingly supported Hamas, respected for its steadfast resistance to Israel and appreciated by the majority of Palestinians for the suicide bombings against Israeli civilians. The outcome surprised decision-makers in Washington and Jerusalem, who in turn backed Fatah’s efforts to block Hamas from assuming control of the territories.

After more than a year of sporadic firefights and spiteful public exchanges, Hamas launched a military offensive in June 2007 that crushed Fatah’s political and military positions throughout the Gaza Strip. Human rights groups reported that Palestinians were pushing rival faction members off tall buildings to their death, while others were shot point blank in the limbs to ensure permanent damage. Members of both factions were kidnapped off the streets and held without cause. Since then, two illegitimate governments have separately ruled the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The civil war has continued unabated, despite the best efforts of Arab states seeking to reconcile the conflict, including Egypt, Yemen, Saudi Arabia and even Mauritania.

When President-elect Obama moves into the White House in January and sets out to rekindle Palestinian-Israeli peace, he will be faced with a vexing problem: Which Palestinian faction/non-state represents the Palestinians? With whom should Washington negotiate?

If it is Abbas’ Fatah West Bank faction, Obama will be working with an unelected government while effectively ignoring the Hamas regime in Gaza, where an estimated 1.5 million Palestinians reside. If the president negotiates with Hamas, he would be negotiating with terrorists—something that would fly in the face of U.S. policy dating back to the Nixon administration.

It is also worthy to note that amid their clashing, Hamas and Fatah have failed to articulate a vision for the state they insist they deserve. As one Al-Jazeera analyst noted, “The rivalry between Fatah and Hamas had eclipsed demands for putting forward a Palestinian negotiating strategy.”

Until now it is unclear whether Obama and his advisers will address the internecine Palestinian conflict as a key component in their Middle East foreign policy. If they fail to confront this critical issue, we risk engaging in yet another failed round of diplomacy. And as we have seen in the past, failure at the negotiating table can often lead to renewed conflict.

Kenyan Ambassador to the United States, His Excellency Peter Ogego, admitted in this radio interview that Barack Obama was born in Kenya.

When WRIF “Mike In The Morning” Mike Clark (Michigan Radio Talk Show) Co-Host asked Kenyan Ambassador to the U.S., Peter Ogego: “One more quick question, president-elect Obama’s birthplace over in Kenya, is that going to be a national spot to go visit where he was born?”

Kenya Ambassador Ogego replied: “It is already an attraction. His paternal grandmother is still alive.”

Radio Co-Host asks again : “But his (Barack Obama’s) birthplace, they will put up a marker there?”

Kenyan Ambassador Ogego replied : “It will depend on the government. It is already well known.”

His Excellency Peter Ogego, Kenyan Ambassador to the United States admitted in this radio interview that Barack Obama was born in Kenya.

Side note:

Anagram for Barack Hussein Obama:

I, Arab Sham, beckon USA

more at

http://www.anagramgenius.com/archive/senato11.html

It would be tough to get a more corrupt and powerful group of people moving into the White House in 2009.  Just more evidence that Obama voters are as dumb as doorknobs.  Via Townhall:

On his first day as the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, Barack Obama made his first clear, serious mistake: He named Eric Holder as one of three people charged with vice-presidential vetting.

As deputy attorney general, Holder was the key person who made the pardon of Marc Rich possible in the final hours of the Clinton presidency. Now, Obama will be stuck in the Marc Rich mess.

If ever there was a person who did not deserve a presidential pardon, it’s Marc Rich, the fugitive billionaire who renounced his US citizenship and moved to Switzerland to avoid prosecution for racketeering, wire fraud, 51 counts of tax fraud, evading $48 million in taxes, and engaging in illegal trades with Iran in violation of the US embargo following the 1979-80 hostage crisis.

The Zogby poll confirms as objective fact that the Obamite hordes who overran America were the dumbest collection of voters ever to participate in a US election.

Just 2% of them got perfect or near-perfect scores on a test gauging basic knowledge of the presidential tickets.  The study also revealed the dumbing effect of the biased mainstream media.  Via Neocon Express:

Below is a video of exit-poll interviews with Obama supporters. While the interviews shown in the video are not a scientific representation of Obama supporters, Zogby’s poll is:

Data from howobamagotelected.com

512 Obama Voters 11/13/08-11/15/08 MOE +/- 4.4 points

97.1% High School Graduate or higher, 55% College Graduates

Results to 12 simple Multiple Choice Questions

57.4% could NOT correctly say which party controls congress (50/50 shot just by guessing)

81.8% could NOT correctly say Joe Biden quit a previous campaign because of plagiarism (25% chance by guessing)

82.6% could NOT correctly say that Barack Obama won his first election by getting opponents kicked off the ballot (25% chance by guessing)

88.4% could NOT correctly say that Obama said his policies would likely bankrupt the coal industry and make energy rates skyrocket (25% chance by guessing)

56.1% could NOT correctly say Obama started his political career at the home of two former members of the Weather Underground (25% chance by guessing).

And yet…..

Only 13.7% failed to identify Sarah Palin as the person on which their party spent $150,000 in clothes

Only 6.2% failed to identify Palin as the one with a pregnant teenage daughter

And 86.9 % thought that Palin said that she could see Russia from her “house,” even though that was Tina Fey who said that!!

Only 2.4% got at least 11 correct.

Only .5% got all of them correct. (And we “gave” one answer that was technically not Palin, but actually Tina Fey)

Heh. Nothing like forcing Obama to face his own Muslim identity politics. Whose side will he choose to sacrifice on the altar of “hope and change?” Via Fox Forum:

Al-Qaeda has officially added President-elect Barack Obama to its enemies list.

In a new video message, Ayman al-Zawahiri, al-Qaeda’s number two, calls Obama a “House Negro” who “claims” to be Christian.

The video says that because Obama has chosen to support Israel and has threatened to strike Pakistan and send more troops to Afghanistan, he has decided to continue “the crimes of the American crusade.”

Zawahiri also says that by choosing to abandon the faith of his Muslim father in favor of Christianity and to continue waging America’s War on Terror, Obama has agreed to “pray the prayer of the Jews.”

In case anyone misses the point of this diatribe (widely distributed on Arab television networks), the video portrays Obama wearing a yarmulke - a Jewish skullcap.

Well, well, well. I’m impressed.  Obama’s cyber spies appear to be actually monitoring the conservative blogosphere’s response to Obama’s new transitional webpage, Change.gov, where he originally called on citizens of all ages to serve America, by developing a plan to require 50 hours of community service in middle school and high school and 100 hours of community service in college every year.  Well the response to the wording has caused such a ripple effect, that the page has changed.  The wording no longer reads “citizens of all ages”.  Now, it’s “middle and high school students” who will be required and bribed that if they do the community service, they’ll get $4,000 off their college tuition.  How lovely.  My tax dollars will be going towards someone else’s scholarship and I don’t even get a say in the matter as to what state, city, or college gets to be the beneficiary.

The redistribution of my wealth has begun.

The new language on the site has been changed to the following:

America Serves

“When you choose to serve — whether it’s your nation, your community or simply your neighborhood — you are connected to that fundamental American ideal that we want life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness not just for ourselves, but for all Americans. That’s why it’s called the American dream.”

The Obama Administration will call on Americans to serve in order to meet the nation’s challenges. President-Elect Obama will expand national service programs like AmeriCorps and Peace Corps and will create a new Classroom Corps to help teachers in underserved schools, as well as a new Health Corps, Clean Energy Corps, and Veterans Corps. Obama will call on citizens of all ages to serve America, by setting a goal that all middle school and high school students do 50 hours of community service a year and by developing a plan so that all college students who conduct 100 hours of community service receive a universal and fully refundable tax credit ensuring that the first $4,000 of their college education is completely free. Obama will encourage retiring Americans to serve by improving programs available for individuals over age 55, while at the same time promoting youth programs such as Youth Build and Head Start.

Click here to read the original wording that appeared on Change.gov around five hours earlier.

More ostentatiousness from the Messiah-Elect.  Via Michelle Malkin:

What the hell is the “Office of the President-Elect?” And why is it still attacking McCain?

Okay, it’s one thing to take your campaign website, transfer it to a dot-gov domain, and invent an “Office of the President-Elect” out of whole cloth.

But now we’ve got Sen. Obama standing in front of a podium, in front of the world, for his first transitional press conference with an official-looking sign that reads “Office of the President-Elect.” Is that the official seal of the U.S. on the sign? Do they have authority to use it? What other make-believe offices are they going to invent between now and Inauguration Day? I can’t ever recall in my lifetime any mention of such an office. Can you?

Gah:

C’mon. It’s creepy.

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Question: Why is the Office of the President-Elect’s .gov website still attacking the “McCain plan?” (hat tip - reader JB)
Here’s the screenshot in case they scrub it…

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Related: Obama’s tasteless joke about Nancy Reagan at the press conference went beyond creepy. Just classless.

On Obama’s new transitional webpage, Change.gov, he calls on citizens of all ages to serve America, by developing a plan to require 50 hours of community service in middle school and high school and 100 hours of community service in college every year.

Wow, he’s not even sworn in and he’s already shredding the Constitution. Via Change.gov:

America Serves

“When you choose to serve — whether it’s your nation, your community or simply your neighborhood — you are connected to that fundamental American ideal that we want life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness not just for ourselves, but for all Americans. That’s why it’s called the American dream.”

The Obama Administration will call on Americans to serve in order to meet the nation’s challenges. President-Elect Obama will expand national service programs like AmeriCorps and Peace Corps and will create a new Classroom Corps to help teachers in underserved schools, as well as a new Health Corps, Clean Energy Corps, and Veterans Corps. Obama will call on citizens of all ages to serve America, by developing a plan to require 50 hours of community service in middle school and high school and 100 hours of community service in college every year.

Obama will encourage retiring Americans to serve by improving programs available for individuals over age 55, while at the same time promoting youth programs such as Youth Build and Head Start.

Obama speechwriter defects to McCain.  Via WND:

A long-time speechwriter who claims to have written for both Barack and Michelle Obama has announced she is leaving the Party and endorsing John McCain for president.

Wendy Button, a frequent columnist for the Huffington Post, where she is credited with writing speeches for Democratic Sens. John Edwards, Hillary Rodham Clinton, and John Kerry and for Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, made the announcement in a blog post called “So Long, Democrats” on The Daily Beast.

She cites age-ism, sexism, racism, and socialism as her reasons for leaving.

More dirt comes out of the Obama campaign than dirt in a cemetary.  Via Modern Conservative:

What gun owners must know before they vote is that Obama promises to appoint a U.S. Supreme Court that will eradicate the Second Amendment from the Constitution.

On June 26, in the case District of Columbia v. Heller, the Supreme Court held in a split 5-4 decision that the Second Amendment secures a right to keep and bear arms for private citizens, and struck down the D.C. law that banned all handguns and readily-usable firearms, even in your own home.

That decision turned on a single vote. The four liberal justices on the Supreme Court voted against the Second Amendment and to uphold the gun ban. They wrote that the Second Amendment confers no right whatsoever on private citizens, that Americans have no personal right to own guns of any sort, and the government can confiscate or ban them at will.

The Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms survived by the slimmest of margins. If a single justice had voted the other way, the Second Amendment would have been erased from the Constitution forever.

Obama’s record shows his assurances to gun owners are cheap campaign talk. He has an unbroken record of voting for every anti-gun measure to come before him. He’s voted to outlaw ammunition and to allow trial lawyers to sue gun makers and dealers for the misuse of firearms by criminals.  He has voted against the self-defense rights of victims of crime. He even wrote as early as 1996 that he supported a law to ban all handguns.

But even if he had no anti-gun record, he has said who he would appoint to the Supreme Court and the justices he would appoint will take away our Second Amendment rights.

He has singled out one justice on the Court, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, as his model for Supreme Court appointments. Justice Ginsburg was one of the four who voted that private citizens have no Second Amendment rights at all, and voted to uphold D.C.’s handgun ban.

The next president will probably have at least three Supreme Court appointments in his first term alone. Not since Ronald Reagan has any president had that many vacancies in a single term. If Barack Obama becomes president, appointing three more Ginsburgs to the Supreme Court could doom the Second Amendment.