Embassy in Jerusalem

[Jake1001]

Thoughts on US Embassy in Jerusalem ?

Senate overwhelmingly votes to keep US embassy in Jerusalem

Thank you, Estro, you are one of my most loyal fans.

 

[exchemist]

Thoughts on US Embassy in Jerusalem ?

Senate overwhelmingly votes to keep US embassy in Jerusalem

Thank you, Estro, you are one of my most loyal fans.

Dreadful blunder, but probably not politically possible to reverse. Also , Biden has made it clear that getting enmeshed in yet more attempted diplomacy in the Middle East is not his priority. I think that's wise on his part - at least until Netanyahu is behind bars.

 

[Debater Slayer]

This vote shows that a lot of American politicians, both Democratic and Republican, deal with Middle Eastern politics in an extremely unwise, destructive manner. This decision will only serve to feed into the volatile conflict in the region and stir up further sectarian and nationalistic dispute.

Yet more evidence that both the Democratic Party and the GOP need fundamental reform when it comes to foreign policies concerning the Middle East, although I'm sure a subset of Israeli demagogues and extremists will cheer the Senate on this vote.

 

[Shaul]

Dreadful blunder, but probably not politically possible to reverse. Also , Biden has made it clear that getting enmeshed in yet more attempted diplomacy in the Middle East is not his priority. I think that's wise on his part - at least until Netanyahu is behind bars.

President Biden is already messing up in the Middle East. His Administration just moved to take Ansarallah off the list of terrorist organizations. It is quite clear that he favors Iran and is willing to throw the Sunni nations and especially Israel under the bus to do it.

 

[Estro Felino]

Thank you, Estro, you are one of my most loyal fans.

You are welcome.

 

[Shaul]

President Trump’s moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem was great for many reasons. One reason was that it signaled that the stalemate in the Middle East could be overcome. It enabled the Abraham Accords and the normalization of relations between Israel and a half dozen former adversaries.

The Biden Administration is currently working behind the scenes to persuade Saudi Arabia, who has given signs it wants to normalize relations with Israel, to not do so. Biden knows that if that happens then it is a sea shift in the Middle East. One that helps Israel and hurts Iran and its allies such as Hezbollah and the PLO.

 

[Debater Slayer]

President Biden is already messing up in the Middle East. His Administration just moved to take Ansarallah off the list of terrorist organizations. It is quite clear that he favors Iran and is willing to throw the Sunni nations and especially Israel under the bus to do it.

And I suppose favoring Israel's blatant building of illegal settlements would sit much better with you, right?

 

[Stevicus]

This vote shows that a lot of American politicians, both Democratic and Republican, deal with Middle Eastern politics in an extremely unwise, destructive manner.

Agreed, and I think this can be said about US foreign policy in general. The original Jerusalem Embassy Act was passed in 1995, although Clinton, Bush, and Obama all deferred actually moving the embassy. Trump was the one who actually moved it, although if the Senate reversed that, they'd also be reversing themselves.

Part of the issue of the Middle East is that a great many Americans still view the region in a religious/historical context. There's also the legacy of the Cold War mentality which still lingers on in the mindsets of many Americans at all levels. There's also a certain reliance on tried-and-true methods such as gunboat diplomacy - although we're finding that it's not as simple as it used to be back in the old days.

Originally, US foreign policy was driven towards "no foreign entanglements." If two or more other nations had some kind of dispute, our policy was to stay out of it. We remained generally detached and uninvolved in the European wars of the 19th century - although we were pretty active in our own hemisphere and ended the century pushing out into the Pacific and setting up an outpost in East Asia. But the Middle East and Africa were already spoken for, so we couldn't really do much in those regions until after WW2. But it was because of that war that the overall geopolitical balance of power shifted, which US foreign policy was restructured to contend with.

But it's interesting to look back and see where we made our mistakes and how we've failed to learn from them.

 

[Revoltingest]

So Biden is keeping the embassy in Jerusalem,
& he's keeping the sanctions Trump placed on Iran.
Ugh.

 

[exchemist]

Dreadful blunder, but probably not politically possible to reverse.

President Biden is already messing up in the Middle East. His Administration just moved to take Ansarallah off the list of terrorist organizations. It is quite clear that he favors Iran and is willing to throw the Sunni nations and especially Israel under the bus to do it.

No US president will ever throw Israel under a bus. Even if he were to entertain such an idea, which I am quite sure he doesn't, the Israel Lobby is far too powerful to let that happen.

But he may well tilt more towards Iran that the last presidency. That would make a lot of sense in my opinion. I think Iran will get a bomb now whatever happens and when they do it will be all be for the best, as they will no longer fear invasion by the US. I have thought for years that Iran needs to be gradually brought in from the cold and Saudi Arabia needs to be shoved out into the cold until it modernises. Iran is a sophisticated country with an educated middle class, kept down by the Serious Beards. Saudi is basically a lot of overweight Bedouin in Mercs, still stuck in the Middle Ages.

 

[Debater Slayer]

President Trump’s moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem was great for many reasons.

Statements like these serve as a solid reminder that Jewish extremism is just as pernicious and irrational as its Islamist counterpart.

 

[Harel13]

I think Iran will get a bomb now whatever happens and when they do it will be all be for the best, as they will no longer fear invasion by the US. I have thought for years that Iran needs to be gradually brought in from the cold and Saudi Arabia needs to be shoved out into the cold until it modernises. Iran is a sophisticated country with an educated middle class, kept down by the Serious Beards. Saudi is basically a lot of overweight Bedouin in Mercs, still stuck in the Middle Ages.

And then it's goodbye Western civilization and hello Supreme Leader of the Entire World Khamenei. Well, @exchemist, you'll have to say hello for me because I doubt any Israelis will still be around when that happens.

 

[exchemist]

And then it's goodbye Western civilization and hello Supreme Leader of the Entire World Khamenei. Well, @exchemist, you'll have to say hello for me because I doubt any Israelis will still be around when that happens.

Hysterical nonsense. The Serious Beards are not mad and they are not hell-bent on national suicide. Since Israel has a large number of (undeclared) nukes, the last thing Iran is going to do is be stupid enough to try nuking Israel. Nor do they show any sign of wanting to threaten "western civilisation".

Nuclear weapons are useless as offensive weapons, due to the certainty of obliteration of someone who starts a nuclear war. But they are unparalleled as defensive weapons, as no one dare invade you if you have one. So I think it is quite rational of Iran to want one, given the bellicose posture of the US and Israel towards them. I suspect once they get one they will feel a lot more secure and that what they consider their rightful place as a major Middle Eastern power will be assured.

 

[Harel13]

Hysterical nonsense. The Serious Beards are not mad and they are not hell-bent on national suicide. Since Israel has a large number of (undeclared) nukes, the last thing Iran is going to do is be stupid enough to try nuking Israel. Nor do they show any sign of wanting to threaten "western civilisation".

There's always a better bomb. It's a well-known fact here in Israel that Hamas, the PA, vigilante Palestinian terrorists, Syria, Lebanon, etc are all small fries compared to Iran.

 

[exchemist]

There's always a better bomb. It's a well-known fact here in Israel that Hamas, the PA, vigilante Palestinian terrorists, Syria, Lebanon, etc are all small fries compared to Iran.

Sure. Iran is a decent sized industrial power. But so what? Iran is never going to attack a nuclear state with nuclear weapons, any more than Russia is going to attack the US with them.

 

[Harel13]

Sure. Iran is a decent sized industrial power. But so what? Iran is never going to attack a nuclear state with nuclear weapons, any more than Russia is going to attack the US with them.

My cynical side wants to say "We'll wait and see", but my optimistic side is still in control. In any case, who do you think is supplying all of those Palestinian groups I mentioned earlier with weapons which they then use to murder Israelis (yes, murder, not acting out of self-defense)? Hint: It's not just Hezbollah.

 

[metis]

It is quite clear that he favors Iran and is willing to throw the Sunni nations and especially Israel under the bus to do it.

Categorically false. Just yesterday he announced that we will not be rejoining the nuclear agreement unless Iran stops its production of nuclear materials, thus the sanctions will continue.

Where do you get your "news" from?

 

[Messianic Israelite]

Sure. Iran is a decent sized industrial power. But so what? Iran is never going to attack a nuclear state with nuclear weapons, any more than Russia is going to attack the US with them.

Hi exchemist. Good afternoon. The Iranian presidential website stated: "the Zionist Regime of Israel faces a deadend and will under God's grace be wiped off the map," and "the Zionist Regime that is a usurper and illegitimate regime and a cancerous tumor should be wiped off the map." It is clear to anyone who has looked at Iran's past that they cannot be trusted with nuclear weapons.

 

[exchemist]

My cynical side wants to say "We'll wait and see", but my optimistic side is still in control. In any case, who do you think is supplying all of those Palestinian groups I mentioned earlier with weapons which they then use to murder Israelis (yes, murder, not acting out of self-defense)? Hint: It's not just Hezbollah.

This has nothing to do with nuclear weapons or any imagined threat to western civilisation.

 

[ecco]

Senate overwhelmingly votes to keep US embassy in Jerusalem

Overwhelming? I wonder why.

Senate overwhelmingly votes to keep US embassy in Jerusalem
The amendment, co-sponsored by 21 Republicans led by James Inhofe of Oklahoma, was added to the massive $1.9 trillion budget bill the Senate passed as part of President Joe Biden’s relief package.​

Oh. Politics as usual. One man's COVID relief is another's pork farm.