Looming crisis in the Korean Peninsula

North Korea defies the world, Iran keeping a close watch.


North Korea continues to defy the world by detonating a rather large Nuclear device and continuing to test ballistic missiles that could carry nuclear payloads. Other than some harsh rhetoric by Western leaders it is mostly unclear what is to happen now. Many expected a severe foreign policy test for President Obama in his first year. It looks like the test has arrived.

Obama has a few options to choose from. One option could be to completely isolate the North with a complete embargo and possible confiscation of its assets outside of Korea. That option would probably cause massive starvation for millions in the North and not undermine the regime to much.
Another option is a full military blockade of the North by Nato forces. This option is also problematic as this blockade is a clear act of war that would give the north a excuse to start another Korean War. A last option of course is to do nothing at all with all of its repercussions.

Iran is looking very carefully as to how the West will react to this latest outrage by North Korea. It is hoping that there will be major saber rattling and very little in terms of substance. They see the confrontation between the west and North Korea as a test case for themselves. .

President Obama is unlikely to do anything that might antagonize the north and cause a rekindling of the Korean War. The nuclear capability of the North certainly limits what steps can be taken by the west. Iran is betting that little will be done to confront North Korea in this new cold war crisis. It expects the same will happen if they manage to attain nuclear capability. The policy of the United States is to stop Irans quest for a bomb at all cost. The way this crisis is managed will go long way in showing Iran what the west has in store for it.

Did I mention Israel in all this?

The endless loop of the Middle East peace process

Its over, Netanyahu leaves Washington.


A lot has been said and written on what would happen when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met President Barack Obama. Many predicted a serious diplomatic row others weren’t completely sure what to expect. But it turns out that the more things change the more they stay the same. The Arab Israeli conflict has perplexed so many for so long, easy solutions do not seem to be in the offing. President Obama may think that he will be able to easily solve this most impossible of problems. He is to introduce a new peace initiative on his upcoming trip to Cairo. This initiative will focus on Israel being fully recognized by moderate Arab countries even before Israel decides to go back to pre 1967 border lines. They will not do it. The President is wasting his time.

The so called Peace process is a non starter and doomed to failure. The funny part about this is that everyone really knows this and continues to play the game. It is completely inconceivable that any Prime Minister would ever agree to the minimalist demands on the Arab side. The peace process is a never ending loop of talks and wars.

The Arab side still has not recognized Israel’s right to exist. Israel is not going away and the hatred of Israel just seems to increase.

Its just the same old story.

Papal Visit to the Holy Land

The Pope has come and gone

Frankly its difficult to read the new head of the Catholic Church. For someone Jewish the son of a holocaust survivor its that much more difficult. The fact that the Pope is German and served in the German army during WWII just adds to the difficulty of dealing with the leader of the Roman Catholic Church. To many Jews nothing that he could say would be right. His predecessor Pius during the WW2 did nothing and said nothing as millions were being slaughtered. What words could make up for that?
Nonetheless there were some things that were said that should not have been said. Certainly not from a German visiting Israel. He said that the Palestinians deserve their own state next to Israel. The he prayed for their statehood and how bad the wall was that was being built.

What he has done and said are more harmful then most people think. Very many Catholics in the world today are in great fear of Islam. They support Israel and are much more sympathetic towards Israel that to the Arab world. The ones who are fervently Catholic take the Popes word as Gospel and will certainly support the Palestinian cause.
This undoubtedly will re stir Catholic Jewish rifts that seem to have dissipated as Islam has attacked both the western Catholic/ Christian world as well as the Jewish one.. This is something that no one really needs. Beside all this a German Pope after what happened in WW2 should not be telling Israel what she should be doing. The Jewish People certainly deserve the complete support from Europe especially Germany on whatever it does. If the Jewish state is paranoid over its security it is the Germans fault.


His trip here was a failure

Israel’s new ambassador

Michael Oren has been appointed as the new ambassador of Israel to the United States. It is a bizarre appointment by the new/old Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that many are raising eyebrows about. No one seems to really know what Mr Oren really thinks about some issues and how he can properly represent Israel in Washington. Mr. Netanyahu is thought to be against any two state solution while Mr Oren was quoted not to long ago as supporting that idea. He also has publicly said that he thinks the dismantling of settlements was a necessity that Israel will need to do at some point in the future. It’s important to remember that Mr. Netanyahu resigned the last government he was in because of a unilateral withdrawal of the Israeli government from the Gaza strip. Mr Oren has also publicly said that he thought the withdrawal was necessary and correct even as many who supported it have since backtracked. It is all to bizarre that someone with clear opinions that seem to go counter to the Prime Ministers could become the leading diplomat outside of Israel. Some in Israel have said that Mr. Netanyahu is planning on going against campaign promises on territorial compromise and will use Mr. Orens position to advance those positions. This theory has its holes as any compromise on territory will likely teeter the Netanyahu government. The probable reason for Orens appointment is the attempt to slowly erode the hard line policy that got Mr. Netanyahu elected in the first place. The deputy foreign minister has also said some statements that seem to go contrary to his own party’s platform. It is evidently clear that Mr. Netanyahu will not be able to withstand pressure from the American President Obama. Something will give. Mr. Netanyahu will use Oren to advance the compromises he promised he would not make,

It’s a bad move and a bad decision.