March 15, 2010

We might have put this behind us.\n\nThat’s what some members of the Obama administration should have been thinking this week as the brouhaha over Israel’s authorization of 1600 new housing units in Jerusalem has been allowed to explode into a diplomatic crisis. Vice President, Joe Biden, touring the region had stinging words of rebuke for his hosts despite repeated apologies from Israeli government leaders. He refused to be mollified, even as he mouthed platitudes about his understanding of the unfortunate timing of the announcement.\n

In its determination to prove it is not the Bush Administration, the Obama Administration has gone out of its way to curry favor with the Arabs and criticize Israel. Having succeeded in alienating most of the Israeli public, the administration sent Vice President Joseph Biden to Jerusalem to convince Israelis they have a friend in the White House, but Biden couldn’t stick to the script and managed to reinforce their fears rather than reassure them.