Hanson takes a parting shot at Obama: "The Way of the SophistI had a lot of Obama's in class. They sat in the front of the room, posed long eloquent questions, mellifluously interrupted the lectures with clever refinements and qualifications, often self-referenced all that they had read and done — and then pow!: you grade their first test and there is simply nothing there: a D or F. It was quite stunning: how could a student be so confident in his rhetoric and so dismal in his performance?
Surely I thought this test must be some terrible mistake (did his mother just die? Had she came down with mononucleosis? Is this a fluke, a once-in-a-lifetime bad day?). And then he takes the midterm and then the final and then turns in the paper — each effort proves more pathetic than the last. Yet in class the next day, there he is again, raising his hand, pouring out clever phraseology and eloquent exempla, as if he has not just flunked his test and is getting an F.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++Each time you encounter such a Starbuck the Rainmaker or The Music Man, the experience still is discomforting, given the vast abyss between the eloquent grandstanding rhetoric and actual achievement — and the deliberate way in which you, the instructor, were to be conned. And if such students are athletic, dapper, charismatic, and sharply dressed (and for some reason they so often are), the disconnect becomes ever more arresting. Sometimes the debacle even worsens when they come to office hours after the first bad grade, “shocked” that the professor might under appreciate their rhetorical gymnastics. Similar is the gulf between Obama’s teleprompted verbiage and his actual performance of governing since 2009.
This was sent to me by a neighbor, dear friend and fellow memo reader. I believe much of what the author predicts can and even might happen. Some I believe is a linear extrapolation and is a longer shot. Some, no way.
You decide. (See 1 below.)
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This was a letter which a dear friend and fellow memo reader sent to his friend and it expresses my own views, My friend is not Jewish and his friend is Israeli .. (See 2 below.)
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Nonie Darwish addresses the Muslims. (See 3 below.)
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Eight years later,not only back to square one but worse. (See 4 below.)
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Unless Obama engages in more stupid, petulant and destructive behaviour in furtherance of a promised smooth transition my focus will shift to Trump . Putin was correct, Obama is a lame lame duck but, as I already pointed out, he will not go without continuing to quack from the sidelines. But that is what quacks do.
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Finally, The Supreme Court has no army to enforce its rulings nor do the Justices have a say even over their salaries. Their effectiveness is because America decided it wanted to be a Republic ruled by law and so far, the vast majority of Americans obey SCOTUS' rulings.
The U.N. also has no army and must depend upon its members to agree and supply forces but these forces seldom carry weapons so have proven ineffective and far too many of its members are not in agreement thus making the U.N an ineffective organization.
To make matters worse, the U.N and many of its agencies have been captured by renegade nations who are more interested in using the U.N as a forum for their own benefit rather than for the benefit of the world at large.
The U.N was a great idea but no longer meets its central purpose and either must change or should be closed.
I understand the argument that it has allowed the world to debate differences rather than settle their disagreements through war but there have been plenty of wars notwithstanding the debates and perhaps if the U.N was disbanded nations may become frightened at the consequent prospects and create a new Organization that better serves the world's ultimate goal of seeking tranquility.
"
I for one do not believe the world is ready for Wilkie's concept of "One World" and therefore, oppose the idea America becomes subservient to The U.N.
Therefore, I hope Trump will markedly de-fund our contributions to the U.N. Perhaps that will get their attention.
You decide.
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Dick
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This comes from a bright long-term Wall Street guy via The Rant who provides an interesting take on the markets and the political scene…
If you have been reading The Rant for a long time you know I have been saying the world is changed and very high risk, and the black swans are circling. We just entered a major inflection point in history. I have been reporting that in Europe the right wing is ascendant. LePen is likely to win the French election next year. The EU is going to come apart once that happens and now with Trump in power that trend will accelerate. The EU will realign into blocs and there will be massive turmoil as things sort out over the next several years. The French will go back to the Franc. Germany will shift right as the refugees create social, crime and fiscal issues. As ISIS gets destroyed they will try to wage war in Europe thru more terror attacks. You do not want to invest in Europe. The world is rapidly shifting right and the changes will be generational. Brussels will be neutered. NATO countries will invest much more in defense and will be forced to build up their armies.
Here is what I believe will happen in the US. Trump has two years to make massive changes and this is what I believe they may be.
- Obamacare is replaced with some type of more free market plan that Ryan already has.
- Corporate taxes will be reduced to maybe 15% or maybe a bit higher.
- Personal taxes will be reduced.
- All executive orders by Obama will be reversed.
- Most of the massive regulation Obama put in place will be cancelled.
- The Supreme Court will get a conservative justice right away and Ginsburg will try to hang on until she dies in office to try to deny him her seat. She will not last 4 years. Trump will get at least 2 and maybe 3 judge picks. The Supreme court will decide by what strict constructionists think the constitution says not the left wing politics of Sotomayor. It will be much more pro-business. Antitrust cases will go away.
- Sanctuary cities will lose funding and San Francisco and Berkley and Boulder will go nuts.
- The border will somehow be secured and Mexico will not pay. Border Patrol will be materially increased. Gang members will be arrested and deported but everyone else will get to stay here.
- Ryan will stay as Speaker.
- Trump will do what any good NY real estate guy does, he will get up from the table until he gets a deal close to what he wants. That is key to a lot of what Trump will be able to do. If you listened carefully to what he said, it was I will redo NAFTA and will walk from the table if I do not get what we need. There will be a revised NAFTA but Mexico will suffer a lot because many US companies will not move plants there until they see what revised NAFTA says. They will also not defy Trump early on and risk his wrath.
- Mexico takes a big hit.
- The Pentagon and US defense contractors are big winners. Defense spending will ramp up by huge numbers. The military will add over 200,000 people over the next two years. Weapons spending will dramatically increase. This will add a lot of new jobs between the additional military and the added jobs in defense plants.
- Private equity will take a big hit with carried interest going away and this will make a small part payment for the tax cuts.
- Estate taxes will mostly go away.
- Cops will be respected again and racial strife will end as Trump tries new ideas to build charter schools, and rebuild the ghettos.
- There will be no more honoring the families of the thugs like Brown and Travon the way Obama and Hilary did. He will honor the cops.
- The downtrend in crime will get reinstated.
- Transgender anything will go away.
- The military will be told to go win wars and not be social experiments with transgender soldiers.
- Rules of engagement will be changed to kill the enemy instead of cater to political correctness. There will be an infusion of another 5,000 US soldiers into Iraq and more into Syria to back up the destruction of ISIS. The bombing campaign will be stepped up to what it should be. By March ISIS will have been defeated. They will try to carry out major terror attacks, but now the world will call Islamic terror what it is and there will be a more aggressive fight and coordination.
- Putin and Trump are from the same mother and will get along. Putin is like all bullies -he will realize he cannot push Trump around like he does Obama and he will work out a modus vivendi because he knows he has at least 4 more years to deal with a new US president. Bullies back off if they find they cannot intimidate the other guy.
- The Iran nuke deal will get torn up and Iran will find itself back under sanctions. The Germans will scream but Merkel is now in a very weak position so she will not be able to stop Trump from reimposing them at least for US companies and anyone wanting to do business in the US especially banks. This will be world changing.
- The Saudis won big on this, Israel won huge.
- Developers win because the EPA will be defanged.
- Climate change legislation is dead and the Paris pact will be defunct.
- College campuses will no longer have the threat that unless they find a bunch of young guys to charge with sexual whatever they lose funds. PC on college campuses will be pressured to end although for quite a while there will be protests and other such things.
- Today professors are telling students they do not have to take exams because they are so upset. Give me a break. This is exactly what is wrong with American colleges today. It is just telling kids boo hoo if you feel bad you get excused from work.
I still think Trump is nuts and a really terrible person, but he is president now so we need to deal with reality of what next. Paul Ryan has already reached out to heal the rift and they have already planned a quick special session to pass repeal of Obamacare and undo the regulations and do other things quickly. Ryan will remain as speaker. The SCOTUS vacancy will be filled immediately
Most important the entire world is about to change. We will see if for good or bad but change it will in massive ways. The tide of anti-socialist, anti PC, anti-diversity, anti-entitlement, anti-establishment of the past 70 years is washing across the world and Trump is simply the ultimate example of what had already been happening with Brexit and in Europe. As far as the stock market- it will now rise. Taxes will get cut, the Supreme Court will not be activist, anti-trust will end, some type of infrastructure program will be instituted, defense spending will jump, banks will be free to lend, regulations will be drastically reduced, and corporate profits will rise. Go all in now. You already see the market reaction is up after the shock. Wall St elite misplaced their bets, Hollywood and the press way over played their hands, and college professors and administrators will have to get over it. Hilary and crew go to jail.
I started Rant in late 2007 when I told a tiny group of friends the market was going to crash and nobody believed me. I sold out of the market in May 2007. My broker thought I was nuts. In January 2008 I told people at the big hotel conference that the hotel industry was going to crash in 2008. They told me I was stupid. I began emailing my little group of friends with these kind of thoughts and so the Rant was launched. They encouraged me to expand that, and so began the Rant. In August 2008 I told a few friends driving to a golf outing that Lehman would go bankrupt, and nobody believed me.
So now I said Trump and the Republicans would win, and few believed me. In fact one of my good friends of 50 years bet me $100 . So how did I do that. Not smarts. I have no data base. Difference is, I spend a lot of time observing trends and traveling, and talking to real people on the ground all across the country at all walks of life. I do not read the NY Times nor do I watch NBC or CBS or CNN. I talk to lots of real people who are doing whatever they do day to day and try to glean tidbits and connect the dots. Any of you can do the same and probably better than me. I just try to disconnect myself from what the talking heads are saying, and the latest fad of political thinking, and try to see it from a distance with some objectivity.
To my Democrat friends—suck it up –the world just changed dramatically- we will see if for better or worse
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2) Dear A----,
My inherent distrust in Obama and his policies toward Israel are based on my admittedly meager knowledge of Israeli history. I know you are much more scholarly than I in that area so I’ve included below, the basis for my belief that this crisis is largely a manufactured one using false flags as political chaff to hide the real intent of the PLO, Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, etc., which, as they state openly, is to “wipe Judaism off the face of the earth and push the Jews into the sea.” In addition, the Quran calls for “killing all infidels” which includes Onnie and me. I have no interest in supporting a regime that declares everyone but Muslims infidels who are subject to killing for no other reason than they are not Muslim or for getting rid of all Jews. I would not negotiate with any nation or group that openly and publicly holds those beliefs. Nor would I willingly give away land next door to me and my friends to people who openly declare they want to kill me. I’m puzzled you would submit to such a deal. If you think giving them the land called the West Bank, including the control of the Western Wall and Jerusalem will satisfy their hunger for Jewish blood, think Gaza.
In 2005, Israel gave away the Gaza strip to the so-called “Palestinians” (see below for an expose of that myth) and dismantled the Jewish settlements there in return for what Israelis thought would be a peaceful co-existence. Instead, the “Palestinians” merely used the Gaza strip as another launching pad for thousands of rockets into Israeli villages, hospitals, schools, shopping malls, etc. In addition, the millions of dollars the US gave them in the form of cement for building their infrastructure, they simply used that to build tunnels into Israel through which they could infiltrate terrorists and weapons. Hence, the theory of giving land away for peace is not very sanguine. I am fearful that giving them the West Bank and Jerusalem in hopes you will find peace with the Arabs known as “Palestinians” is doomed to failure as all other efforts to create a two state solution have failed. Remember that solution has been offered to the Arabs at least six times and the Arabs have walked away from it repeatedly (the offers of another Palestinian Arab state (which would be the 23rd Arab state) in the remaining western portion of the Palestine Mandate date back to the 1937 Peel Commission. That began a consistent pattern of rejected offers through to the present: 1947 UN Partition Plan, 1967 at Khartoum, 2000 at Camp David, 2001 at Taba, and the 2008 Olmert Plan.)
Thus, the evidence seems clear to me that “Palestinians” do NOT want a separate state if that means they must recognize the right for Jews to exist on this earth which their public pronouncements proclaim they do not. What is there in the plan you favor that gives you encouragement that giving them still more land will cause the Arabs to recognize your right to even live? Assaf, I want desperately for you and Amalia and all the little Agins to live in peace. But based on my limited understanding of Israel’s history dating back to pre-biblical days with God’s promise to the Jewish people of a homeland forever, I see nothing in the current Obama/Kerry backed solution that will bring that to reality. Kerry stated clearly and publicly a day or so ago (obviously with Obama’s approval), that Jews could either keep their Jewish faith or they can establish a Democracy, and that they couldn’t have both. I found that supremely arrogant and so blatantly condescending that I could hardly believe an American would have the nerve to dictate to another free and independent nation and its people what faith they could believe in or how they wished to be governed. “Choose one or the other!” he said. What in that stated posture do you find attractive, let alone diplomatic?
I think I do truly understand your dislike of Netanyahu and what appears to be his ambivalence toward a two-state solution. Publicly he supports it but says he won’t negotiate with the “Palestinians” so long as they continue to terrorize Israel and publicly state that all Jews should be killed. If Israeli Jews truly believe a two-state solution will answer their prayers for peace, then I’d agree Netanyahu would not be their man. And I surely understand planes and money appear to be tangible support for the Israeli cause. But will those “gifts” turn into Esau’s mess of pottage if the end result is the ultimate destruction of the 3000 year old promised Jewish state in a safe and secure Israel. In the final analysis, I don’t think history is on their side if the vast majority of Jews in Israel choose to go in that that direction but that decision is yours to make (notwithstanding Kerry’s ultimatum to choose either your faith or the UN resolution). And, indeed, I‘d trade Netanyahu any day for the duplicitous Obama (you have to take Kerry with him) and his manifest support of Islam and jihadist terrorists, notwithstanding his public statements to the contrary. Can you arrange it? Please!
The following is a bit long but I learned a lot of things I had not known. I’d be interested, as always, in your take on the historical accuracy of the essay.
In the meanwhile, our prayers are with you and Amalia. Let‘s hope 2017 will improve both our lots.
Our love and fondest hopes to all,
E-
Dear E-,
I am confident that all what you say comes from deep friendship to us, but I must tell you frankly that the way I see the situation as an Israeli is totally different than yours. As far as I am concerned O'bama's Boxing day present to Israel in terms of F-35, strategy cooperation inteligence, financial etc is tangible, is a fact, You as American can criticize him and I appreciate it, On the other hand I as an Israeli think that Netanyahu is catastrophe to Israel. he is perhaps good for United States. If it was possible I would offer you to swap the two: you take Bibi and we take Obama..
Israel can survive provided she is Jewish, Democratic, and Zionist, and this is possible under Two States solution only, supported by U.S The alternative namely: One State solution can lead to another Holocaust considering the situation at the Muslim and Arab world. I fully agree with John Carry There are too many who are ready to offer my neck. Netanyahu is one of them.
Best wishes A----
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3) New Year Speech to the Muslim World
3) New Year Speech to the Muslim World
- By Western standards, military rule is shunned as an oppressive form of government, but in the Islamic world it is the only buffer of protection from the tyranny of total sharia law that must be enforced by Islamic theocracies, such as those of Iran and Saudi Arabia.
- The days of sacrificing the safety and security of citizens of the West for the sake of multiculturalism, are over. In order for multiculturalism to work, it must be a two-way street between people that share common values of respect of each other's culture. Unfortunately, the West did not get that from Islam.
- It really does not matter what is "true Islam". That is something the Muslim world needs to deal with internally; it does not serve us in the West to try to evaluate what is "true Islam" and what is not.
- Your religious leaders, whose salaries are paid by Islamic governments, stand before your media cameras and call on Muslims to stab, slam trucks, kill, rape and humiliate the kafir [non-Muslim] Jews, Christians and Pagans.
- Islamic governments and terror groups are two peas in a pod, working together for the same goal: enforcing Allah's law, sharia, on the world. It is no secret that a Muslim head of state must rule by sharia and must conduct jihad against non-Muslims. Sharia law commands Muslim citizens to remove, by rebellion or assassination, any Muslim leader who does not abide by sharia and support jihadists.
- As of today, the West must hold Islamic governments responsible for jihadist actions of their own terrorist citizens. Nothing happens in Muslim countries without the knowledge of their governments. If a Muslim government has no control of its citizens, it should be considered a rogue nation.
- Bringing in unvetted refugees from Syria and Iraq is not an act of compassion, but gross negligence. Western governments have failed their citizens for too long in that respect and that will end today.
- After all, why should cultures that loathe the West seek to live in the West? As President-elect Trump said, why should America -- or any country -- not allow in only immigrants who love us and who respect our laws and way of life?
- Our doors will be reopened to citizens from Islamic nations only when Islamic governments prove to the world that they have fundamentally changed, that they have ended once and for all their obsessive jihadist propaganda and hate education prevalent in the Muslim world.
- Until then, all kinds of visas from such troubled areas will be suspended, except for the few who would be properly vetted. Such actions will surely expedite the reformation of Islam and Islamic education in Muslim nations who are desperate to give us their excess unhappy population.
Obama's first major speech after his election in 2008 was to the Muslim world in Cairo. His speech did not deal with the harsh realities of Islam and its impact on world peace. No Muslim authority shook Obama's hand promising change, a new relationship with the West based on mutual respect, or a reflection on what went wrong on 9/11, even if they were not directly responsible for it. No Arab leader publicly announced an end to the Islamic jihadist and anti-Western hate education and Arab media propaganda. Instead, the Muslim world got an apology from Obama.
After Obama left Cairo, the Muslim Brotherhood was empowered, and military rulers weakened and brought down one after another. By Western standards, military rule is shunned as an oppressive form of government, but in the Islamic world it is the only buffer of protection from the tyranny of total sharia that must be enforced by Islamic theocracies, such as those of Iran and Saudi Arabia. The Muslim Brotherhood and then ISIS quickly filled the vacuum and the Muslim world is now on fire.
A huge storm of Islamic darkness, spilling over and sweeping across our planet, headed towards the West. Let us never allow our freedoms, built by generations of Americans, be lost to fear and terror. It is time for the West to unite and send a firm message to the Muslim World -- a message that should have been sent by Obama back in 2009.
With the election of President-elect Donald J. Trump, citizens of the West have renewed their hope to make America again the leader of the free world and human rights for all, as should be. Trump hopefully will rally leaders of the free world to give a firm message to the Muslim world:
The days of sacrificing the safety and security of citizens of the West for the sake of multiculturalism, are over. In order for multiculturalism to work, it must be a Two-Way Street between peoplesthat share common values of respect of each other's culture. Unfortunately, the West did not get that from Islam. America, Europe and Australia have been the safe haven of people from all over the world -- different nationalities, religions and races. We love the Muslim people as we love all people but our love to people of the world should never supersede our number one duty, which is to protect of our citizens, our freedoms, our way of life, and yes, our Biblical-based, Judeo-Christian values.
Today the Middle East is on fire, overrun and ravaged by terrorists and extremists who have no respect for their own governments or law and order. Groups such as ISIS and others brought back ancient barbarity that humanity had mistakenly thought it had transcended. We keep hearing that this has nothing to do with Islam and that Islamic terrorists are just a small number of misguided Muslims who misinterpret true peaceful Islam.
But now it is our turn to tell you what is on our mind: It really does not matter what is true Islam and what is not. When a terrorist plows through a crowd with a truck aiming to kill, the last thing anyone cares to hear is whether "the driver was a true Muslim or not". That is something the Muslim world needs to deal with internally; it does not serve us in the West to try to evaluate what is "true Islam" and what is not.Middle Eastern governments-run schools still teach hate propaganda against the West, Jews and Christians. They still teach their children lies such as that Yasser Arafat died from poisoning by Jews. They still teach in their public schools that jihad is a holy war against non-Muslims; that killing apostates and honor killing of girls is a duty under Islamic law and those who do it will not be prosecuted, but will be rewarded with virgins by Allah. Muslim Imams spread their hatred and incitement right under the noses of the so-called moderate Muslim leaders, on your government-run television screens. Your religious leaders, whose salaries are paid by Islamic governments, stand before your media cameras and call on Muslims to stab, slam trucks, kill, rape and humiliate the kafir [non-Muslim], Jews, Christians and Pagans.
We have done enough appeasing and looking the other way when it comes to the dirty little secret that no one wants to admit: that Islamic governments and terror groups are two peas in a pod, working together for the same goal: enforcing Allah's law, sharia, on the world. It is no secret that a Muslim head of state must rule by sharia and must conduct jihad against non-Muslims. Sharia law commands Muslim citizens to remove, by rebellion or assassination, any Muslim leader who does not abide by sharia and support jihadists. The world understands the plight of Islamic leaders who must fulfill their sharia obligation before their Islamists, otherwise they are "toast." Solving this problem is not the responsibility of the West, but it is a major problem that the Muslim world must address in the open and deal with.
While Muslim people and governments develop the courage openly to settle their issues over their jihad duty, the unholy alliance game played by Islamic governments and terror groups must be exposed for what it is, and emphatically rejected. The West cannot afford to participate in such a dishonest game anymore.As of today, the West must hold Islamic governments responsible for jihadist actions of their own terrorist citizens. Nothing happens in Muslim countries without the knowledge of their governments. If a Muslim government has no control of its citizens, it should be considered a rogue nation. Islamic nations that continue to breed terrorists in their media, schools and mosques and then act innocent of the crime must be held accountable. Muslims themselves have no tolerance for one Western cartoonist who offended them with a cartoon of Muhammad. Instead of saying that this cartoonist does not represent all Western nations, the Muslim public rioted, burned and killed several Westerners and their embassies in retaliation for the actions of one, over a cartoon. That is from the same nations that flooded the world with terrorists that use airplanes, guns, explosives, knives and even trucks to kill non-Muslims. Muslims need to live by the saying "If your house is of glass, do not throw rocks at others."
Any Western nation that does not protect its own citizens first and foremost should be a pariah among civilized nations. Bringing in unvetted refugees from Syria and Iraq is not an act of compassion, but gross negligence. Western governments have failed their citizens for too long in that respect and that will end today.
It would be insane for Western governments not to use extraordinary measures for self-preservation. The doors of immigration to Muslim citizens from nations overrun by terror will be closed. After all, why should cultures that loathe the West seek to live in the West? As President-elect Trump said, why should America -- or any country -- not allow in only immigrants who love us and who respect our laws and way of life?Absorbing refugees from terror run Syria is not only bad for the West, but also for Syria. If we take the moderate Muslims out of Syria, then who will be left to fight ISIS and rebuild the country?
Our doors will be reopened to citizens from Islamic nations only when the war on Islamic terrorism is won and when Islamic governments prove to the world that they have fundamentally changed, that they have ended once and for all their obsessive jihadist propaganda and hate education prevalent in the Muslim world. Until then, all kinds of visas from such troubled areas will be suspended, except for the few who would be properly vetted. Such actions will surely expedite the reformation of Islam and Islamic education in Muslim nations who are desperate to give us their excess unhappy population.
We are looking forward to the day when moderate Muslims will be able to take control of their governments, their educational systems, and their law and order, so the Western world could resume mutual constructive relations based on friendship and respect. The whole world is looking forward to that day and praying for a peaceful Middle East. The ball is now in the Muslim world's court.
Nonie Darwish, born and raised in Egypt, is the author of "Wholly Different; Why I chose Biblical Values over Islamic Values."
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4)
On Israel, we’re right back where Obama started
By Editorial Board (Washington Post)
THE OBAMA administration is ending eight years of failed Middle East diplomacy exactly where it began in 2009 — with an exaggerated and misguided focus on Israeli settlement construction. As he railed at the continuing growth of West Bank Jewish housing on Wednesday with a prolixity that Fidel Castro would have admired, Secretary of State John F. Kerry sounded a lot like President Obama during the early months of his first term, when he insisted that the Israeli government freeze all construction as a starting point for negotiations on a Palestinian state. The president’s demand had the effect of encouraging Palestinian leaders to resist all concessions while seeking to delegitimize Israel internationally; the peace talks went nowhere even when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu imposed a temporary construction freeze.
Mr. Kerry’s speech was, above all, a vivid demonstration of the administration’s inability to learn from its mistakes or adjust the ideological tenets that Mr. Obama brought to office. If it has an effect, it will be to do more damage to the “two-state solution” that Mr. Kerry claimed to be defending. His histrionic rhetoric about “cementing an irreversible one-state reality” will be welcomed by extremists among both Israelis and Palestinians, who are eager to declare the two-state option dead. The one-staters include members of the incoming Trump administration, which appears headed toward flipping U.S. policy to the opposite extreme, of cheerleading for settlements — a position that would be no less blinkered and self-defeating than Mr. Obama’s.
In fact, the two-state solution remains entirely viable, as even the settlement statistics cited by Mr. Kerry demonstrate. The administration asserts that the Jewish population in the West Bank has increased by 100,000 since 2009 — but by Mr. Kerry’s account, 80 percent of that growth was in areas Israel would likely annex in any settlement. In eight years, 20,000 people have been added to communities in territory likely to become part of Palestine — an area where 2.75 million Arabs now live. That growth of about 3 percent per annum, the product of a restraint for which Mr. Netanyahu received no White House credit, means that the Jewish population outside Israel’s West Bank fence may have decreased as a percentage of the overall population even as Mr. Obama and Mr. Kerry have made it the focal point of U.S. policy.
What blocks the two-state solution is not demography, but a failure of leadership among Israelis and Palestinians. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas walked away from a generous Israeli statehood offer eight years ago and in 2014 refused to accept the framework for a settlement that Mr. Kerry outlined on Wednesday. Though he has endorsed two states, Mr. Netanyahu has been unwilling to stand up to nationalists to his right.
It’s unlikely that Israeli and Palestinian leaders who are willing and able to reach agreement will emerge in the near future. That’s why the best U.S. policy would be to work to preserve the option of Palestinian statehood for the longer term, by combating Palestinian corruption and political dysfunction and by encouraging Israel to facilitate the growth of a viable West Bank economy. A new U.S. administration could also work to strike a deal on settlements that restricted all growth to areas that would not be part of a Palestinian state. That would require the sort of pragmatic clear-headedness that for eight years eluded the Obama administration.
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