I’ll have a chance to obviously speak more to this

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu arrived at the White House yet again to give Obama his marching orders.

Obama: “I commended him for entering into good-faith negotiations with the Palestinian Authority”. Because nothing says “good faith” like Netanyahu pretending to negotiate with the PA.

“And we have a limited amount of time to achieve that goal [a two-state solution], and I appreciate the Prime Minister’s courage in being willing to step forward on behalf of that goal.” He doesn’t explain why time is so limited. If that’s not referring to the expansion of settlement activity that Netanyahu refuses to halt, then I can’t think what it refers to, in which case I don’t know why he’s praising Bibi’s “courage.”

Obama says we’ll be “consulting very closely” with Israel over the Syrian civil war, because of possible “spillover effects,” which is a great way of sabotaging the rebels.

“So we will continue to work with the Egyptian government, although urging them and pushing them in a direction that is more inclusive and that meets the basic goals of those who originally sought for more freedom and more democracy in that country.” Can you have “more” democracy without having actual, you know, democracy? Because I’m pretty sure the “basic goals” were actual freedom and actual democracy, not “just a little bit more freedom and democracy than we had under a fucking military dictatorship.”

Obama seems to have picked up an obvious verbal tic: “these are hectic times, and nowhere is that more true, obviously, than in the Middle East”; “discussing how we can resolve what has been, obviously, one of the biggest challenges for a very long time in the region”; “Obviously, we have a broad set of strategic concerns in Syria”; “Chemical weapons inside of Syria obviously have threatened Syrian civilians”; “And we had an opportunity, obviously, to discuss Iran”; “And I’ll have a chance to obviously speak more to this.”

“In all of this, our unshakeable bond with the Israeli people is stronger than ever.” Obviously not including any Palestinians who happen not to have been driven out of Israel. Our bond with the Palestinian people is very shakeable indeed.

Netanyahu: “I know that you know and the American people know that there is no better ally -- more reliable, more stable, more democratic -- other than Israel in a very raw, dangerous place.” Of course Israel’s policy, and to a large extent the US’s, is to ensure that other Middle East countries are unstable, undemocratic, or both.

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