RUTHFULLY YOURS

And Leon Panetta is doing his share for Obama by claiming Israel is isolated and must negotiate (read “make concessions”):

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta warned Sunday that Israel is becoming increasingly isolated in the Middle East, and said Israeli leaders must restart negotiations with the Palestinians and work to restore relations with Egypt and Turkey.
In a blunt assessment made as he was traveling to Israel, Panetta said the ongoing upheaval in the Middle East makes it critical for the Israelis to find ways to communicate with other nations in the region in order to have stability.

“There’s not much question in my mind that they maintain that (military) edge,” Panetta told reporters traveling with him. “But the question you have to ask: Is it enough to maintain a military edge if you’re isolating yourself in the diplomatic arena? Real security can only be achieved by both a strong diplomatic effort as well as a strong effort to project your military strength.”

Isolated?

Last year, Efraim Inbar wrote about the diplomatic relations Israel has around the world–including with Muslim countries:

For example, all states within the Soviet orbit, in former Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union, as well as most African and Asian states opted for diplomatic relations. Significantly, rising powers such as China and India, and pivotal states such as Russia, Turkey, and Nigeria decided to have full diplomatic relations with Israel, which have been maintained ever since.

…Israel also has cordial and fruitful relations with Muslim states that emerged from the dissolution of the Soviet Empire. Israeli presence is well felt in states such as Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The Muslim identity of these populations and their elites does not hinder relations with Jerusalem in areas important to their national interests. Their sensitivity to the imagined or real misfortunes of the Palestinians is very low.

…Likewise, countries on the Pacific Rim, an area that has gained international significance, are usually pro-Israel. South Korea and Australia are prime examples. Sub-Saharan African countries also contain very pro-Israel circles for a variety of reasons.

Todd Warnick also writes about the newest canard about Israel’s isolation

:just to take Turkey as one example: as it reduced its cooperation with Israel, including cancellation of join military maneuvers and preventing the Israeli air force from training over Turkish air space, the prime minister and much to the chagrin of many, Israel’s Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, developed alternatives with (a traditionally hostile) Greece, Cyprus and the entire Balkan region, including Romania, Bulgaria, Georgia and in addition, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and others. This is not something that happened overnight, but these diplomatic developments are a result of a decade or more of Israel’s economic and military standing in the region – and certainly belie the “isolation canard.”

As far as Panetta’s other comment, that a military edge is not enough; you also require diplomacy–let’s not kid ourselves about Obama’s own failure in the Middle East.

Jennifer Rubin writes about the increased instability in the Middle East Obama himself has caused.

:Indeed, the current threat to Israel that is absorbing the attention of both countries [US and Israel] has little to do with immediate military threats from the Palestinians. It flows from the peril in which Israel finds itself because Obama diplomatically distanced the United States from Israel and encouraged Palestinian objectives that were not attainable. He can’t very well say, “But look at the bunker-buster missiles!” It’s apples and oranges. The damage done by Obama’s flawed policy and rhetoric is not corrected by military cooperation, no matter how robust.

Bottom line, Panetta’s comments are not only intended to put more pressure on Israel, they also avoid the addressing the failure of Obama’s Middle East policy which has exacerbated the potential for instability in the region.