The Obama version
, עודכן
These are tough days for the Obama administration, which is being slammed domestically from almost every direction. The main problem is that the government deserves the criticism it is getting from the media, from Congress, and even from its own former members. On Thursday, House Speaker John Boehner revealed that the Republicans planned to sue the president and that it was time that the government stopped projecting antipathy toward Israel. It's not dull in America. Who says the weather forecasts were wrong? There certainly is a storm brewing.
Let's begin with terrorism. The world was holding its breath on Thursday as it waited to learn the fates of the Jordanian pilot and the Japanese journalist held captive by the Islamic State group. White House Spokesman Eric Schultz was asked to discuss possible prisoner exchanges. He was asked to explain why the Jordanians were not allowed to deal with Islamic State, while America freed prisoners held in Guantanamo in exchange for a U.S. soldier who was apparently AWOL. Schultz explained, with obvious hesitation, that the Taliban was "an armed insurgency," not a terrorist organization.
The Taliban isn't a terrorist organization? Isn't this the same Taliban with which Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida joined forces? The one that America went to war against in 2001? Isn't this the same Taliban led by Supreme Commander Mullah Mohammad Omar, who is still one of the most wanted terrorists in the world?
A reminder: As far back as 2009 the administration already refused to call Islamist terrorism "Islamist terrorism." We can no longer tell whether it is because they don't understand the material, or because of a desire to justify a romantic policy and worldview. In either case, the result is the same: a serious issue. We can assume that the government's idea is to change the status of the Taliban, making it possible to negotiate with them, and also to justify the negotiations that have already taken place, and of course, to justify the decision to end the war in Afghanistan.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's planned visit to Washington continues to cause dissent between the Republicans and the White House. In the same interview on Thursday, Boehner said he was not surprised by the strong reactions to the invitation extended to Netanyahu.
"The Israeli prime minister can also talk with some expertise about the growing threat of radical Islam," Boehner told Fox News. "Weve got a serious problem in the world and the president just wants to act like its going to just disappear. ... I dont have any problem at all in doing what I did to invite the prime minister to come to Congress and address those concerns.
Boehner said the Obama administration "doesn't even try to hide" its "antipathy" toward Netanyahu, and stressed that Israel has been the U.S.'s strongest ally in the region for years.
