So That's Where Obama Learned To Talk Like An Obsessed Anti-Semitic Academic
I kind of raised my eyebrows last February when Obama went on his glib little diatribe against "an unwavering pro-Likud approach to Israel." That kind of language is very particular and very revelatory. Likud Prime Ministers are the ones who made peace with Egypt, handed over Hebron to Arafat, and handed over Gaza to the Palestinians. So someone who's just studying Middle East history would never naturally end up using "pro-Likud" as a synonym for "intransigent Zionist right winger." Dozens of one-sided lectures and conversations are necessary before that kind of rhetoric seems quotidian.
There is one specific community that talks like that all the time - where "pro-Likud" actually means "pro-Israel" and both are supposed to be derisive. That would be the radical, Israel-hating academic community that was so well-represented at Khalidi's celebration. And why wouldn't their best and brightest be there? Khalidi himself was a master at that kind of rhetoric:
The dominant neoconservative elements in the administration were already predisposed to accept a hard-line Likud analysis... these necon "Sharonistas" in official and unofficial Washington has long espoused extremist Likud views...[this] line of thinking was shared by the Bush administration's ascendant neocons and the new Likud government
Khalidi has also been known to express his vicious, batshit crazy conspiracy theories in the same charming language: "for these American Likudniks and their Israeli counterparts, sad to say, the tragedy of September 11 was a godsend."
Aaron Klein is also pretty convinced that Obama picked up his "Israel is a constant sore" line from Khalidi:
In a much-quoted interview with the Atlantic, Obama was asked last week whether he thinks Israel is a "drag on America's reputation oversees." Obama replied: "No, no, no. But what I think is that this constant wound, that this constant sore, does infect all of our foreign policy."... Obama's remarks, slammed by pro-Israel and Republican organizations, came five days after the Nation magazine published an opinion piece by Khalidi, titled "Palestine: Liberation Deferred" in which the Palestinian activist opened by calling the "Palestinian question" a "running sore."
I don't want to say that Obama learned everything he knows about the Middle East from Khalidi, Said, and their frothing-at-the-mouth anti-Israel colleagues. That would be unfair. I'm sure that Brzezinski's preference for Syria, Malley's sympathy for Hamas, and Power's eagerness to invade Israel have also figured heavily in the Senator's education. No wonder he thinks that Israel bears the burden for establishing peace with its neighbors. Because Israeli concessions - that's what's been lacking in Israeli-Arab peacemaking.
References:
* Obama Now Actively Channeling Rabid Anti-Israel Academics, Adopting Their Dumbest Anti-Israel Euphemisms [MR]
* "FREE THE TAPE" PROTEST AT LA TIMES [Gateway Pundit]
* Resurrecting Empire [Rashid Khalidi / p. 146]
* Obama hijacked phrase from pro-Palestinian friend? [Aaron Klein / WND]
* Kindred spirits [Babalu Blog]
* Obama's Foreign Policy Advisers Not Exactly Fans Of The Jewish State (Plus: Brzezinski Snubs Israel After Tete-A-Tete With Assad) [MR]
* Top Obama Adviser Carries Obama Foreign Policy To Logical Conclusion - Meets With Hamas And Then Resigns So It Won't Be A "Distraction" [MR]
* Obama Draws Line In The Sand: Invading Israel OK But Calling Hillary A Mean Name Is A Firing Offense [MR]
* Obama: "I'm Not Saying Israel Should Have To Take Risks For Peace, But..." [MR]
Previously:
* Obama Really Getting The Hang Of Anti-Israel Diplomatic Code Words
* Mel Levine's Defense Of Obama: He'll Make Obsessed Anti-Israel Lunatics Love The US. Presumably By Magic.
* Obama Shill Tells Jews To Get Over Their "Obama Paranoia"
