on a related subject

Submitted by David (United States), May 11, 2022 at 19:28

Dr. Pipes, I want to again extend my appreciation for the fact you kindly publish my comments and those of others, even when we have divergences of opinion.

At an earlier point this year, you praised Biden for having a good policy on Erdogan, in contradiction to many bad Mideast policies, and you also noted with satisfaction that Abu Mazen of the PLO has found displeasure with the fact that Biden is not so agreeable to him, and does not give him gratuitous gifts or insist upon a change in the behavior of the Palestinian Authority. You remarked that, after all, this is because Biden is not Bernie Sanders.

Perhaps in regards to both, it is time for a reevaluation. Number 1, as relates to Erdogan, to whom Biden is now promoting weapons sales etc. Of course Erdogan has very cleverly exploited tensions between the US and Russia, as have many other malign actors, and this was predicted by some geostrategists years ago. I think a reassessment is in order as well, of Biden's behavior toward Israel and the Palestinian Authority, in light of for example, the extreme contrast between the condemnations of the accidental killing of the Al Jazeera reporter in Jenin today, under murky circumstances, and the apologetics from this administration about PLO support for terrorism. The US Ambassador to Israel had the temerity, a few weeks ago, to describe the "pay for slay" policy of the PLO as "martyr payments," and it is notable that the American nationality of the Al Jazeera reporter was cited in the administration's rapid condemnations of the IDF, but that the same administration will imminently be hosting the Jordanian King, and has yet to even raise the issue of the extradition of the Jordanian killer, Ms. Ahlam Aref Ahmad Al-Tamimi, who murdered two American citizens in cold blood. Likewise it's impossible to ignore what seems to be an imminent attempt by Biden to directly challenge and undermine, Israel's sovereignty in East Jerusalem.

I would say that Israel's political dysfunction invites these diplomatic attacks, but it is time, I think, to question the assumption that Biden's policies are as you described them. I also happen to believe that the fact that the traditional DC allies of Israel in the Democratic party, and even some of the erstwhile Republicans who've since defected and become Biden loyalists, is providing the administration with room to indulge its natural instincts on such issues, and it would be salutary if they would finally be subjected to some proper examination and held to account.

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