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Steven Emerson,
Executive Director
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February 19, 2016
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Obama's
reckless foreign policy has put Israel in dire jeopardy
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President Barack Obama's foreign policy over the past seven years has
undermined Israel's security by heightening threats to its existence.
The perceived alienation of Israel by the U.S. has emboldened Israel's
enemies. Administration engagements in the Middle East and Africa have left
behind failed states that are hornet nests of extremism and jihadists
enlisted by Iran.
Fueled by Iranian resources, regional Islamist organizations are more
committed than ever to Israel's destruction. A fraudulent nuclear agreement
between Iran and a group of world powers furthered the genocidal ambitions
of its radical theocratic leaders against the Jewish people.
Obama's repeated snubs and slights against Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu signal to Israel's antagonists that American support is less than
absolute.
It marks a significant departure from America's once-unwavering
commitment that started when the U.S. recognized Israel in 1948. Since
then, the Jewish state has stood as a durable, reliable beachhead of
Western-style democracy in a very troubled region of the world.
But Obama administration policies already have resulted in Iraq, Syria,
Libya and Yemen becoming failed states, and the Sinai Peninsula now
contains a strong jihadist element.
And radical Islamists dedicated to the annihilation of Israel have
significantly more safe havens to freely traffic in ideology, fighters and
weapons that find their way to Israel's borders.
The terrorist hegemon and Iranian proxy Hezbollah, operating just north
of Israel, in Lebanon, has trained 150,000 missiles on the Jewish state.
Iran funds Hezbollah to the tune of $800 million to $1 billion annually.
Iran's ally in Gaza, the Palestinian Authority, encourages the
unyielding knife attacks against Israelis by Palestinians. Fatah, the
political party of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, recently
called for killing all Israelis throughout the country - "in all their
neighborhoods" - in a music video broadcast on the Fatah-run Awdah TV
channel.
Hamas, which also receives significant support from Iran, continues
building tunnels into Israel for smuggling fighters and weapons.
Rather than punish Iran for supporting the forces dedicated to Israel's
destruction, the White House gave it everything it was seeking in a nuclear
agreement that neither Congress nor the Iranian parliament ever ratified.
The deal immediately released more than $100 billion in assets, which
Iran - the world's No. 1 state sponsor of terrorism - will spend on its
Islamist terrorist agents. The administration also paid $1.7 billion in
U.S. taxpayer dollars to settle a decades-old legal claim while Iran
refuses to compensate victims in judgments against it for its atrocities.
Iran responded, in direct violation of U.N. resolutions, by test firing
intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear warheads
to Israel. It called weak new sanctions related to the tests
"illegitimate" and accelerated its development of such missiles.
Its leaders also never backed down from their intention to wipe Israel off
the map.
Meanwhile, the Obama administration has increased spying on Israel,
including using the National Security Agency to monitor Netanyahu's private
discussions.
The president claimed an incredible victory over fictitious straw men by
touting diplomacy over those who would resort "to another war in the
Middle East."
Diplomatic dialogue is absolutely necessary in world affairs -
especially when backed by a position of strength - but the problem with his
argument is that nobody in the West has advocated for war.
If anything, the Iranian agreement steers the region closer to doomsday
by legitimizing the Islamic Republic's pursuit of a deployable nuclear
weapon.
The administration's apparent lack of support for Israel has also newly
energized the boycott, disinvestment and sanctions campaign, which is a
cancer destroying support for Israel in the West.
U.S. foreign policy has jeopardized Israel's national, political and
economic security more than at any other time in its history. The next
administration will need to repair the immeasurable damage after seven
years of disdain and recklessness. A new beginning anchored in unyielding
support can rebuild the relationship so that it becomes stronger than ever.
ABOUT THE WRITER
Pete Hoekstra is the Senior Shillman Fellow at the Investigative Project
on Terrorism and the former chairman of the U.S. House Intelligence
Committee. He is the author of "Architects of Disaster: The
Destruction of Libya." Readers may write him at IPT, 5505 Connecticut
Ave NW, Washington, DC 20015.
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Terrorism is critical in winning a battle we cannot afford to lose. All
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