Kadhafi slams Obama over Jerusalem remarks

[oberliner]

Source: AFP

TRIPOLI (AFP) — Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi on Wednesday criticised Democratic White House candidate Barack Obama for saying that Jerusalem should remain the undivided capital of Israel and said he hoped the next US president will be a man of peace.

Kadhafi, whose country is Africa's number two oil producer, also blamed US foreign policies and a weak dollar for skyrocketing oil prices, during a speech to mark the 38th anniversary of US evacuation of bases in Libya.

"The statements of our Kenyan brother of American nationality Obama on Jerusalem... show that he either ignores international politics and did not study the Middle East conflict or that it is a campaign lie," Kadhafi said.

Obama who "chose change as the theme of his campaign should have proposed real change in US policies" towards the Arabs, he said.

Read more: http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gUiiUscjifF_4no50bse0Pv-I2mg

[WheelWalker]

1. This is an interesting story. Thank you for posting it. I have been moved to

reflect further on several interesting thoughts. Yes, thank you.

[oberliner]

10. Thanks so much!

What were the interesting thoughts that you reflected on?

[subsuelo]

2. Obama's Right Turn

In many respects, presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama has played right into the hands of cynics who have long doubted his promises to create a new and more progressive role for the United States in the world. The very morning after the last primaries, in which he finally received a sufficient number of pledged delegates to secure the Democratic presidential nomination and no longer needed to win over voters from the progressive base of his own party, Obama – in a Clinton-style effort at triangulation – gave a major policy speech before the national convention of the America-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). Embracing policies which largely backed those of the more hawkish voices concerned with Middle Eastern affairs, he received a standing ovation for his efforts.

When it came to Israel and Palestine, Obama appeared to largely embrace a right-wing perspective which appeared to place all the blame for the ongoing violence and the impasse in the peace process on the Palestinians under occupation rather than the Israelis who are still occupying and colonizing the parts of their country seized by the Israeli army more than 40 years ago.

While there were some faint glimmers of hope in Obama’s speech for those of us who support Israeli-Palestinian peace, progressive voices in Israel were particularly disappointed.

Israeli analyst Uri Avneri, in an essay entitled “No, I Can’t!”, expressed the bitterness of many Israeli peace activists for “a speech that broke all records for obsequiousness and fawning.” Avneri goes on to observe the irony of how Obama’s “dizzying success in the primaries was entirely due to his promise to bring about a change, to put an end to the rotten practices of Washington and to replace the old cynics with a young, brave person who does not compromise his principles. And lo and behold, the very first thing he does after securing the nomination of his party is to compromise his principles.”

Avneri addressed the view of many Israelis that “Obama's declarations at the AIPAC conference are very, very bad for peace. And what is bad for peace is bad for Israel, bad for the world and bad for the Palestinian people.”

Foreign Policy in Focus - read more

[aquart]

9. "Right turn," my ass.

This is where he's always been.

[Alcibiades]

3. A big thanks to Kadhafi!

Being condemned by Kadhafi never hurts an American politician, and may even help.

If Kadhafi really thinks McCain would be better than Obama for Arabs, then he should endorse McCain ASAP.

[garthranzz]

4. Obama's declaration and Kadhafi's reaction are good news for two reasons

1) Politically, it will help Obama with the Jewish vote, critical in key states such as NJ, NY, PA, IL, CA and FL

2) Diplomatically, it will force Arab leaders to stop the destruction by attrition policy, and the strategy of prevarication that Arafat (a truly evil man) implemented so well. That statement was part of the same approach Obama has taken regarding Iran and the Middle East in general. In the same speech, Obama also stated, as firmly, that there must be a two-state solution - a Palestinian state. I personally find the idea noxious and revisionist - there already exists a "Palestinian" state, the "Palestinians" already control Gaza, the viral hatred and destructiveness - well, that's for another thread.

Be that as it may, Obama has made a two-state solution, a Palestinian state, part of his policy. This will not satisfy israeli hawks. Jerusalem as the permanent undivided capital of Israel will not satisfy Palestinian hawks. But in realpolitik, no one gets everything they want. There are compromises and sacrifices. If the Arabs truly want a state, peace, stability, self-determination, prosperity, democracy, etc. etc. (and i think the average individual, not indoctrinated with hatred, and even some inundated with Sesame Street characters and Mickey Mouse teaching "death to the Jews" can overcome that, do want to just live their lives and earn a living), then they must be willing to compromise - give up some claims - just as Israel, which has already done so (see unilateral withdrawals, etc. - whether right or wrong).

eom

no replies please - I'm tired of flame wars. Just attach an IMHO or ignore to this post.

[madeline_con]

5. IYHO

[PATRICK]

11. Can't hurt politically

Arab moderates may no be happy either but this helps Obama here and now. Weaning Israel back from the brink is a key element of supposedly "disappointing" talk by our guy who is not close to being in office just yet. Better to have said nothing but any step back from where we are now going is a desperately needed improvement.

If we can just get a condemnation from the fake Osama we are off and away.

[nnn]

6. heh

...

[jberryhill]

7. Aw shit...

...well, there goes the African Muslim Dictator Vote...

[Nihil]

12. That was a good start to the day ...

:spray:

Nice one! :applause:

[Name removed]

8. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Behind the Aegis]

13. Gadhafi: Obama fears Israel will assassinate him like it did JFK

Source: Reuters

Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi said on Wednesday that U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's expressed support for Israel stems from his fear that the Mossad would assassinate him, just as it did President John F. Kennedy.

"We suspect he may fear being killed by Israeli agents and meet the same fate as Kennedy when he promised to look into Israel's nuclear program," Gadhafi said.

While the existence of Israeli nuclear weapons is widely assumed, Israeli officials have never admitted their existence and U.S. officials have stuck to that line in public.

Gadhafi saw a dark motive behind a recent speech by Obama in support of Israel. "Obama offered $300 billion in aid to Israel and more military support. He avoided talking about Israel's nuclear weapons," he said.

Gadhafi said Obama would have an "inferiority complex" because he is black and if elected he might "behave worse than whites."


Read more: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/991948.html

[Kutjara]

14. Good to see that ol' Gadhafi isn't going soft in his old age.

He's just as loony as ever.

[mcctatas]

15. Wait a minute...

I thought the FBI assassinated Kennedy, I should have known it was the Israeli's, it's always the Israeli's....

Tom Lehrer says it best in the song 'National Brotherhood Week"

"Oh, the Protestants hate the Catholics,
And the Catholics hate the Protestants,
And the Hindus hate the Moslems,
And everybody hates the Jews."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIlJ8ZCs4jY&feature=related

[Kutjara]

17. No, no, no. The FBI wanted to kill JFK, but then...

...they found out that the Mafia, Cubans, Israelis, CIA, Bush family, Soviets, and Shriners all wanted to assassinate him too. So they drew straws. The Shriners won.

[Dr.Phool]

24. Of course they did. Shriners are Freemasons. They rigged the straws.

[Thothmes]

28. Dont forget LBJ.

[HowHasItComeToThis]

18. TRY " WE WILL ALL GO TOGETHER WHEN WE GO"

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=frAEmhqdLFs

[mcctatas]

21. I just downloaded that one from itunes...

awesome!

[aquart]

23. My sister's wedding dance was to Lehrer's Masochism Tango.

[Behind the Aegis]

19. I thought it was the CIA.

It doesn't matter though, all roads lead back to Israel. 9-11, the Indonesian Tsunami, Natalee Holloway, the World Bank, and a list of other things...

[LeftishBrit]

26. I love Tom Lehrer!

[Drunken Irishman]

16. haha, what a nut.

[anonymous171]

20. Wait a minute, I thought Kennedy was assassinated by the CIA ?

What does Israel have to do with it?

[dipsydoodle]

22. Aside from anything else

it would seem to me that $300 billion would provide a fair amount of healthcare within the USA so why the generosity ?

Here's the BBC News link :

Libya's leader has strongly criticised US presidential candidate Barack Obama for saying Jerusalem should remain the undivided capital of Israel.

Col Muammar Gaddafi said he was either ignorant of the Middle East conflict or lying to boost his campaign.

Mr Obama was speaking to pro-Israel lobbyists in the US last week.

Referring to him as "our Kenyan brother", Col Gaddafi also said Mr Obama might suffer from an inferiority complex because of his African origins.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7450000.stm

[LeftishBrit]

25. A typical piece of sanity from Gadhafi...

I don't think Obama really wants his endorsement!

[Sultana]

27. Gadhafi sure is on the news a lot lately

:eyes:

[ohio2007]

29. A Palestinian killed RFK bc of his views on Israel. Wonder why wacky gadaffy didn't expand on that

point.