Obama: Powerless in the Middle East

UNESCO voting reveals that no one is impressed by Obama’s threats

“Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far.” That was the advice once given by President Theodore Roosevelt, but that advice is apparently lost on Barack Obama. The UNESCO vote shows that no one is impressed by Obama’s threats. Relations between the U.S., Israel and the Palestinian Authority are topsy-turvy because Obama should basically be able to dictate terms to Israel and Fatah: Last year, the United States funded nearly 16 percent of the Palestinian budget and Israel received about $3 billion in military aid as well as diplomatic backing from the United States. Despite that, both Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Mahmoud Abbas ignore the United States.

One side continues to build new settlements and the other prefers to follow a unilateral strategy rather than to negotiate. Netanyahu fears no consequences because he has the support of the U.S. Congress and Abbas knows that the only alternative to his Fatah is the radical Islamist Hamas. Obama has maneuvered the Middle East peace process into a dead end. His threats are useless because he has no alternatives. Whatever alternatives he has available would damage the United States more than they would harm either Israel or Palestine. If Obama cuts funding to Abbas or UNESCO, he loses important allies and credibility in the Arab world. If he continues on his present course, his threats will never be taken seriously again.