Saturday, March 27, 2010
This is just a quick link to follow -- an "aside." These are links to interesting things that, for one reason or another, I didn't place into a full posting. Click the link to visit the full article. Go to the blog index for a regular listing of posts.
Why Has Barack Obama Treated Netanyahu So Rudely? - '...I think Obama expects Israel to strike Iran, and wants to put distance between the United States and Israel in advance of that happening. (Perhaps he even thinks that treating Israel rudely will provoke such a response, saving him the trouble of doing anything about Iran himself, and avoiding the risk that things might go wrong if he does). On the most optimistic level, maybe this whole thing is a sham, and the U.S. is really helping Israel strike Iran, with this as distraction. The question for readers is which of these -- not necessarily mutually exclusive -- explanations is most plausible...'
Honor/shame seems, for me, the greatest likelihood. Or, rather, one of several likelihoods, certain intellectualized strains (e.g., via Reverend Wright, via a combination of liberation theology combined with Israel as oppressor theme) of anti-Semitism as well, at least to some degree.
But honor/shame, given the manner in which Netanyahu was treated, would give Obama cache among most Arab and other Muslims. For what ends, who can say with much specificity?