US
Richard Haas believes that America and the world should rethink ” target=”_blank”>credibility counts when it comes to American presidents:
Denying that credibility counts in the world—arguing that it's nothing more than a form of magical thinking designed to embroil the United States in endless conflict—is a willful delusion and recipe for policy failure. It's also a crafty debater's tactic, of which this White House and its minions are especially fond. Challenge this administration's weakness on the world stage, and you will be met with an endless stream of false dichotomies. Those who criticize the president for not doing more in Syria, he and his acolytes allege, want to ignite another war in the Middle East (as if what Syria has been experiencing these past five, dreadful years is not already a war). Those who recommend he send defensive weapons to Ukraine want war with Russia. Those who find fault with his nuclear deal want war with Tehran.
Israel
Aaron David Miller tries to explain why ” target=”_blank”>pick for Ambassador to Israel:
But Friedman advised Trump on Israel policy during the campaign and has left behind a long trail of statements indicating his views, including equating liberal Americans Jews to “kapos” who assisted Nazis in ghettos; labeling President Barack Obama an anti-Semite; and suggesting Israel should annex the West Bank.
Middle East
Leon Wieseltier argues that ” target=”_blank”>different take on America’s role in the horrors of Aleppo:
The U.S. hasn't turned a blind eye to what's going on in Aleppo, but it's the means they were willing to use to achieve their objectives. They've tried to get a ceasefire, they've tried to make humanitarian deliveries, they tried to get into an agreement with the Russians in the summer to target terrorists, as long as the Aleppo siege was broken and humanitarian deliveries were available… It's not true that the U.S. hasn't focused on this. But the only way to keep that siege from happening would have been to escalate militarily, and that's what President Obama didn't do, either directly, through direct intervention, [or] also indirectly, through the provision of weapons [to the rebels]. And most interestingly, they were unwilling to carry out airdrops into East Aleppo. So in that sense, the U.S. fell well short of achieving their objectives, and it's another devastating loss for U.S. Syria policy. What else can you say?
Jewish World
Nahum Barnea writes about the people he refers to as ” target=”_blank”>moving speech by US General John Allen, in which he explains how he became a Zionist:
My father and I would remain glued to the television for the entire war. And when we saw those images of Israeli paratroopers worshiping at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, we knew that we were witnessing something extraordinary. And when I looked at my dad I was surprised to see him weeping for joy. This was the man whose destroyer was torpedoed by a German u-boat in the North Atlantic, even before World War II began, and would fight his way all the way across the Atlantic and all the way across the Pacific, and whose ship was anchored within sight of the U.S.S. Missouri in Tokyo Bay in 1945 when the Japanese surrendered. Later he would fight in the Korean War and he would design the U.S. strategic communications that would enable the Navy to dominate the seas against the Soviet Navy during the Cold War. This good man, this hard man, was weeping tears of joy. The Jewish people were safe. Israel would survive. You know, I would never be the same again…
More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.