White House to Congress: Help protect Israel

[FarCenter]

The Obama administration is using a time-tested pitch to get Congress to back military strikes in Syria: It will help protect Israel.

Israel’s enemies, including Iran and the terrorist group Hezbollah, could be emboldened if Congress fails to approve action against the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad, senior administration officials said Saturday.

And for the second day in a row, President Barack Obama publicly cited the threat against Israel if Assad’s reported use of chemical weapons goes unchecked. “It endangers our friends and our partners along Syria’s borders, including Israel, Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon and Iraq,” Obama said Saturday in the Rose Garden. “It could lead to escalating use of chemical weapons or their proliferation to terrorist groups who would do our people harm.”

Secretary of State John Kerry also referred to Israel repeatedly as he made the rounds on all five major Sunday morning news shows — as well as comparing Assad to Adolf Hitler.


Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2013/09/white-house-congress-syria-protect-israel-96133.html

White House argument proves Godwin's Law.

[Jefferson23]

1. K&R

[gopiscrap]

2. Half the problem in the region is Israel

[R. Daneel Olivaw]

8. I wouldn't say half, but Israel is certainly a contributor.

[JI7]

11. nope, only as far as Palestinians are concerned

but the arab spring has shown Israel is not that big a problem compared to so many other things in those areas.

[PoliticAverse]

3. "as well as comparing Assad to Adolf Hitler." -Saddam the new Hitler, Bush tells Europeans

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/11/21/1037697805270.html

[Jefferson23]

4. snip*

In this showdown, Israel and the lobby that supports it may find themselves suddenly embroiled. Both have been careful to steer clear of taking sides and to appear neutral for fear of fueling Iraq War, Walt and Mearsheimer-style attacks that Israel and its doers in Washington were pushing America to go to war. But it is surely no coincidence that both Obama and Kerry have made a point of reiterating time and time again that in advocating a strong response to Syria, the U.S. is looking out for Israel and its interests, by preventing the proliferation of chemical weapons and by sending a strong signal to Iran about its nuclear plans.

Supporters of Israel will likely be told that at this critical juncture, neutrality is a luxury that neither the lobby nor the Administration can afford. Time to put up or shut up, get off the fence and spend some of the precious political capital that Israel supporters have amassed in order to fight in the Washington trenches for something that most Israelis contend is crucial to their national interests.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.544594

[Billy Love]

5. Fuck Israel.

As long as Likudniks are running the country to the ground, my opinion for Israel is at a all-time low.

Even I won't speak to my sister who currently lives in Israel. She barely spoke a word to me all summer while she was in the States.

We have had this issue for close to 11 years, and she is ideologically the same as me. She used to work for Al Gore.

I can tell you that she used to work for a very right-wing power broker that went to prison 7 years ago and now released after singing bullshit to satisfy the Feds (You know who I am talking about).

She was his right-hand woman.

I am no longer a practicing Jew. I have never understood the concept of God, and no longer believe in that concept, so therefore I'm done with religion. She is extremely religious, though.

Marx had it right: Religion is the opiate for the masses.

[L0oniX]

6. Flame bait. n/t

[zbdent]

7. This would be a great time for Republicans to remind the U.S. and the rest of the world

that we can't afford to spend money we don't have, since George W. Bush maxed out the credit cards.

Any actions we take will have to be with money borrowed from the loan sharks, right?

[morningfog]

9. Like the march to war in Iraq, they'll try anything and everything. Whatever sticks.

[alittlelark]

10. Israel has the nukes we gave them... they can protect themselves.

[KittyWampus]

12. See- the quote says "Israel, Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon and Iraq". It doesn't just say Israel.

someone pointed out that many, many refugees from continuing mass attacks are going to pour into Turkey and Jordan. It's already getting to be a humanitarian crisis in those two countries. It may destabilize them.

So it isn't JUST Israel.

The article title sounds like an attempt at stoking anti-Israeli sentiment.

I dislike the Likud party but Politico comes across as baiting.

[tammywammy]

14. +1 n/t

[1-Old-Man]

13. Wait a minute, I've been told 100 times Israel has nothing to do with. Syria

Despite their common border.