Obama: 'Much more determined' to break Mideast deadlock

[Americanhero1]

(CNN) -- President-elect Barack Obama said Sunday the suffering on both sides of Gaza's borders has led him to ramp up his commitment to working for a peace deal in the Middle East.

"When you see civilians, whether Palestinian or Israeli, harmed, under hardship, it's heartbreaking. And obviously what that does is it makes me much more determined to try to break a deadlock that has gone on for decades now," he told ABC's "This Week."

Rejecting criticism that he has been relatively quiet on the violence in Gaza, Obama said he believes "the one area where the principle of 'one president at a time' has to hold is when it comes to foreign policy. We cannot have two administrations at the same time simultaneously sending signals in a volatile situation.

"But what I am doing right now is putting together the team so that on January 20, starting on day one, we have the best possible people who are going to be immediately engaged in the Middle East peace process as a whole, that are going to be engaging with all of the actors there, that will work to create a strategic approach that ensures that both Israelis and Palestinians can meet their aspirations," he said.
Asked whether he will be building on President Bush's policies toward the region or offering "a clean break," Obama responded: "I think that if you look not just at the Bush administration, but also what happened under the Clinton administration, you are seeing the general outlines of an approach. And I think that players in the region understand the compromises that are going to need to be made."

Dealing with Iran, Obama said, will be "one of our biggest challenges. ... Not only is Iran exporting terrorism through Hamas, through Hezbollah, but they are pursuing a nuclear weapon that could potentially trigger a nuclear arms race in the Middle East."

Iran insists it is not pursuing a nuclear weapon, only nuclear energy. But the Bush administration has said Iran's nuclear energy program is a guise to build nuclear weapons. European officials -- some of whom share the U.S. concerns -- have repeatedly tried to broker a resolution to that stalemate.

During the presidential election, Obama vowed to meet with leaders of Iran and several other nations without preconditions during his first year, though his campaign later added that there would be "preparation."

Obama said Sunday that his commitment to "engagement" early on will help send a "signal that we respect the aspirations of the Iranian people, but that we also have certain expectations in terms of how a international actor behaves."
While vowing quick action on a host of issues, the president-elect warned that some major tasks will take time. Among them is the closing of the prison at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where about 250 men considered by the government to be suspected terrorists continue to be held.

Asked whether the closure will take place in his first 100 days in office, Obama responded, "That is a challenge. I think it's going to take some time. ... But I don't want to be ambiguous about this. We are going to close Guantanamo and we are going to make sure that the procedures we set up are ones that abide by our Constitution."


Since winning the presidency, Obama has been given intelligence briefings on top secret information that he did not have access to as a candidate or as a U.S. senator.

Asked whether he's been shocked by anything he's learned involving U.S. security, he responded, "There hasn't been something that was eye-popping. But, you know, the situation still requires vigilance."
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/01/11/obama.gaza/index.html

[New Yorker]

"(CNN) -- President-elect Barack Obama said Sunday the suffering on both sides of Gaza's borders has led him to ramp up his commitment to working for a peace deal in the Middle East."


The only peace deal Hamas is interested in is the complete destruction of Israel and the slaughter of all the Jews. So unless Obamalama is ready to agree to that, he's deluding himself about having peace deals with the primitive arab savages. Typical liberal, "Aw, if we just talk to them they'll see the errors of their ways, then we can all hold hands and sing Kumbaya"

[Chaim Ben Pesach]

This is what we warned about during the election.

Bush has been a terrible president, and McCain would have been awful.

But Obama will be much worse, especially for Israel and the Jewish people. Bush did NOT make pressuring Israel to commit national suicide a major priority. But Obama has said here again that he plans to press for Israeli national suicide from "day one" of his evil administration.

How sad that Jews do not have real leaders like JTF and Hayamin Haamiti. Now more than ever, the Jewish people need a big, strong and influential JTF.

[IsraelForever]

If President Bush wouldn't help Israel out with bunker busting bombs, then what will President Obama do?  I'm a total nervous wreck lately.  If Israel doesn't wipe out Hamas and wipe out Iran's nuclear sites, it could end up disastrous for Israel -- and the whole world.  Why is this so not so obvious to everyone?  If Hamas can send missiles by the thousands into Israel, what would prevent Iran from firing a small nuclear device into Israel using the same method?  I was thrilled to hear Governon Paterson defend Israel today.  "New York Governor David Paterson emphasized the importance of standing with Israel because of the anti-Semitism that has followed on the heels of Operation Cast Lead, using as an example the Jan. 5 beating of a teen-age girl in France.  "This kind of anger and hatred spreads like a disease, and one thing I've always pointed out is there's no place for hate in the Empire State," Paterson said."  I hate to say this, but I firmly believe that if Israel isn't careful -- and truly proactive in its defense -- then it could be destroyed.  Please remember that David brought Goliath down with a stone.