I was remembering this, and wondering about Joe.
This article is 11 yo.
Intentional or not, the announcement of new settlements in East Jerusalem may push the US into a tougher stance towards Israel.
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Biden's visit, though reassuring and conciliatory on the surface until the east Jerusalem bombshell dropped, may mark the start of this tougher approach. Many Obama supporters in the US and Europe, and in the post-Cairo Muslim world, will wish it so. The vice-president, whose attack dog qualities were unleashed on the subjects of Russia and Ukraine last year, certainly did not mince his words, once he realised the extent of the insult.
"I condemn the decision by the government of Israel to advance planning for new housing units in east Jerusalem," Biden said. "The announcement ... is precisely the kind of step that undermines the trust we need right now and runs counter to the constructive discussions that I've had here in Israel." In the last part of this sentence Biden seems to be suggesting that Netanyahu told him one thing to his face and did another behind his back. Little wonder he kept Israel's first couple waiting for dinner.
It doesn't seem to realise it, but Israel cannot afford to keep on behaving in this disobliging manner towards its friends. Whether it is blatant disregard for international rules concerning the protection of civilian life, as in Gaza; whether it is calculated insults aimed at neighbours, as with Turkey; or whether it is the theft of passports and identities from friendly countries and the lawless assassination of its enemies, as in Dubai, it goes too far.
Now, Netanyahu has deeply angered his country's best and most powerful friend – again. The coming message to Bibi: don't over-reach.
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/mar/10/israel-joe-biden-east-jerusalem-settlements
Do something positive.
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