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Sunday 27 May 2012

Obama's Middle East tactics

Marc Lynch thinks the UN speech proves the president is going to play hardball with Netanyahu and his supporters:

Put bluntly, in exchange for an evening's backslapping and triumphant TV play, they got a pissed-off President who is more committed than ever to doing exactly what he said he would do and who is more -- not less -- inclined to demonstrate his determination to play the role of even-handed broker...

Netanyahu won September 22, but Obama and his team aren't playing to win a day.  They're playing to win the game... I've had plenty of criticisms of the Obama team's tactical choices along the way -- letting the settlements battle draw out, not acting to alleviate the Gaza disaster, unreasonably expecting Arab concessions in response to tepid Israeli statements, and do on.  But they've made it clear that the time for games is coming to an end, and that their patience is wearing thin.   To succeed, they are going to need to have some real sticks to wield -- and I suspect that they will be better able to wield them after demonstrating such astonishing restraint in the face of Netanyahu's repeated provocations.   

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