True colors on display with UNSC 2334

Today is Boxing Day.  This past Friday, the UN Security Council passed resolution 2334, demanding Israel stop all settlement activity.  The full text of the resolution can be found on The Times of Israel.  For the past few months, the Washington Rumor Mill has speculated President Obama’s Administration was going to part a lasting gift against Israel at the UN.  Well colluding on this resolution and making it come to fruition was one hell of a gift.

I’ve heard folks say there is no proof the US helped author this resolution nor get it passed.  The text in my opinion mirrors many of the same phrases that Secretary John Kerry, President Barack Obama and Ben Rhodes have echoed in past comments/ speeches.  In addition, I highly doubt a resolution like this could have been picked backup so quickly (after Egypt dropped it on Thursday), let alone passed with unanimous support, without explicit backing/ push from the White House.  Even the UK voted for it, which they normally abstain.  To assume no collusion is naive, especially understanding how UN cronyism works.

We might see another parting gift in January from President Obama right before President-Elect Donald Trump takes office.  Yossi Klein Halevi got it right when he summarized the wreckage of President Obama’s foreign policy legacy:

“President Obama’s legacy is a half million dead in Syria, the refugee influx in Europe which could lead to the breakup of the EU and the rise of the radical right, the rise of Iran as a conventional power that is devouring one Sunni country after another even as it is on a slower but now-inevitable track to becoming a nuclear power, the diminution of American power and prestige—and now, legitimizing BDS and the criminalization of Israel.

Thank you, Mr President.”

I have come to the conclusion the Western envisioned two state solution is not achievable.  Continuing to penalize and demonize Israel for Palestinian intrangency and Intifada are not in the spirit of the Oslo Accords.  After 20 years of abject failure, ascension of Militant Islam and the expansion of Iranian terror tentacles, it is time to give up this delusion.  With the Middle East in a downward spiral, I hope we see some brave moves over the next four years by the US and its regional allies, specifically:

• The US moves our embassy to Jerusalem, and other countries follow suit.
• Israel declares Oslo null and void and officially annexes Judea, Samaria and East Jerusalem.
• Israel offers the Palestinians a choice to remain seeking Israeli citizenship or sponsor immigration via the UN/ EU to countries who support the Palestinian narrative, or a path of forming Palestinian Emirates (city states).
• Fatah revolts against the annexation, and Israel deals with them swiftly.
• Hizbollah gets bold and attacks Israel, which results in Israel invading Lebanon and wiping out Hizbollah (once and for all).
• A coalition is assembled with the US and its allies supporting the Kurds to destroy ISIS.  Assad is overthrown and Iran losses its foothold in Syria.
• Regional lines are redrawn, Syria is split and a new country called Kurdistan is formed, which includes the Kurdish regions of Iraq and Syria.
• Relations between Israel and its Arab neighbors are normalized.  Hamas/ Gaza remains isolated and ineffective.

The last few may be going to far down the path of wishful thinking.  Nevertheless, it’s time to pick sides against evil.  I hope President-Elect Trump can recognize the good, the bad and the ugly in the Middle East.  Our outgoing President has displayed a propensity to turn things into sand.