This week President Abbas made a disastrous application for a unilateral declaration of Palestinian Statehood at the United Nations. This bid, more than anything, was a result of Barack Obama’s disastrous Middle East policy, but not according to Bob Beckel. Beckel on Friday’s “The Five” suggested that Obama’s policies had nothing to do with the UN disaster, nothing to do with the fact that Abbas refuses to negotiate, and nothing to do with Palestinians’s refusal to recognize Israel as the Jewish State. It’s all the fault of the settlements, the settlements, the settlements.

Honestly, I can’t remember if he repeated the words “the settlements” three or four times but Beckel certainly made his point. He also proved that he is either too partisan to admit the truth, or too lazy to research recent  history, but either way he is wrong.

Allow me to explain the facts and for brevity’s sake I will start with the Obama Administration.

While the Palestinians have never accepted Israeli settlements, secession of all settlement building has never been a precondition to talks. Israel had long ago agreed not to build new communities in Judea and Samaria but would continue to add housing units to existing communities.

During the government of PM Ehud Barak, there were direct talks and construction continued in existing communities.

It was the Obama administration’s naiveté that made the settlements an issue. Hillary Clinton first demanded the freeze in 2009 and was quickly backed up by Obama. What the President and his advisers perceived as a minor concession (a settlement freeze including no new housing units in existing communities) was for Israel a grave sacrifice. From their point of view Obama was telling adult Israelis that their children could no longer live near their parents. He was also saying that a policy not accepted in the United States (allowing people of a certain faith to live anywhere they want) was OK as long as it appeased the Arab world.

It is interesting that the man who pushed for Muslims to build a mosque on Ground Zero, and for illegal immigrants to live in Arizona, believes that Jews should be banned from living on the West Bank of the Jordan River.

Making the settlement a cornerstone of the new administration’s Middle East policy was a major naivete-driven error by the Obama administration. It was further compounded by their inclusion of Jerusalem in the mix and their constant public berating of the Jewish State. This turned the Israeli population against Obama, especially the Israeli left who would be more inclined to support a settlement freeze demand. A May 2011 Smith Poll conducted for the Jerusalem Post showed that only 12% of Israelis believe Obama is pro-Israel while 40% believe he is pro-Palestinian.

Obama’s demand for a freeze of natural community growth broke a US/Israel agreement made during the Bush administration.

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On Wednesday night, in an interview with Larry King, the author of what is surely one of the biggest pieces Rolling Stone has ever published revealed his true intentions behind the research and publication of his article.

King asked Michael Hastings, “Is there a part of you that feels bad for the General?” Hastings responded, after giving a bit of praise to McChrystal as an “impressive individual”, by saying “I think the problem becomes, in my view, is when guys like General McChrystal, who spent the last nine years fighting these wars… I think when war becomes your life, I think it’s very difficult to have the proper perspective to be able to create a fully balanced policy. And I think that’s what’s happened here: the policy between the military side of Afghanistan and the diplomatic side is totally out of whack and General McChrystal controlled both of them.”

So Hastings, when asked if he felt any remorse or any negative feelings at all about the fate of the General, responded by making a clear admission that the policy that he personally feels should be executed in Afghanistan was not the same policy that was being pursued by the General. (more…)

Fox News has signed former Vice-Presidential candidate Sarah Palin as a contributor:

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - Sarah Palin, former Alaska governor and 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate, will take her conservative message to Fox News as a regular commentator, the cable channel announced Monday.

“I am thrilled to be joining the great talent and management team at Fox News,” Palin said in a statement posted on the network’s Web site. “It’s wonderful to be part of a place that so values fair and balanced news.”

Fox said that according to the multiyear deal, Palin will offer political commentary and analysis. She also will host occasional episodes of Fox News “Real American Stories,” a series featuring true inspirational stories about Americans.

Considering the fact that Ms. Palin recently ran a close second behind Sec. of State Hilary Clinton as the most admired woman in America, and considering that Ms. Palin’s book has sold astronomically well since its release on Nov. 17th, it’s a no-brainer that a network would pick her up.  It’s not a bad idea to have such a popular woman affiliated with your brand. (more…)