"We Must Preserve Our Total Commitment to Our Unique
Defense Relationship with Israel"
By Sen. BARACK OBAMA
Remarks of Senator Barack Obama
As Prepared for Delivery
by His Handlers
AIPAC Policy Forum
March 2, 2007
Chicago, Illinois
"Thank you so much
for your kind introduction and the
invitation to meet with you this morning. You’ll
have to forgive me, for I don’t know
jack shit about foreign
policy, but I hired some Jews who do. Mark
Lippert and Dan Shapiro wrote my speech
for me. They are just great
at making me sound good and have a great resume including handling
another
wonderful Jew, Diane Feinstein when she needed to ban guns after
swindling
everyone in California of their real estate.
Last week, this event was described to me as a small
gathering of friends. Looking at all of you here today, I can only hope
I can
afford you all.
I want to begin today with a marvelous story of my alia.
Back in January of 2006, I made my first trip to the Holy
Land. It is a place unlike any other on this earth a special,
chosen place; a
garden of delights; a place that we've learned needs to be protected by
inspiring Jewish ingenuity from the drooling, savage troglodytes next
door.
Most will travel to the holy sites: the Church of the Holy
Sepulchre, the Dome of the Rock or the Western Wall. They make a
journey to be
humbled before God. I went to Sbarro. But
I too am blessed to have seen Israel this
way, up close, first
class, with armed bodyguards and on the ground.
But I am also fortunate to have seen Israel from the air.
On my journey that January day, some fine, hairy women flew
me on an IDF helicopter to the border zone. The helicopter took us over
the
most heavily infested and dangerous areas and that narrow strip between
the
West Bank and the Mediterranean Sea, that Diane Feinstein herself can
only
dream of sinking her teeth into.
At that height, I could see the hills and the terrain that
generations have walked across in the finest sandals made on earth by
Syrians
in Israeli owned sweatshops. I could truly see how small this country
is and why Peace Through War is the
only way for Israel.
Our helicopter landed in the town of Kiryat Shmona on the
border. What struck me first about the village was how Vietnamese it looked.
The houses and streets looked like ones you might find in a suburb in
Saigon. I
could imagine young children riding their giant pet rats or whatever
down the
streets. I could imagine the sounds of their domino and dice games just
like my
own daughters. There were cars being repaired in the driveway. The
shrubs were
trimmed with toilet paper. The families were living their native lives.
Then, I saw a house that had been hit with one of
Hezbollah's Katyusha rockets.
The family who lived in the house was lucky to be alive. They
had been sleep-squatting in a Palestinian second home when the rocket
hit. They
described the explosion. They talked about the fire and the shrapnel
and what
it must have looked like. They spoke about what might have been if the
rocket
had come screaming into their other home at another time when they
weren't
squatting but playing Expulsion!
in the now destroyed first house. The
daughter is writing a book about it for
Oprah’s Book Club, and the son has sold the movie rights to Jerry
Bruckheimer.
It is an experience I keep close to my heart. Not because it
is unique, but because my advisors told me to.
Just six months after I visited, Hezbollah launched four
thousand rocket attacks just like the one that destroyed the home in
Kiryat
Shmona, and kidnapped some children in the Israeli army.
My advisors tell me that this is a large
number, and that it is bad, so I am repeating it here.
And we pray for all of the
service members who have been
kidnapped: Yankel Rosenbaum, Michael Schwerner, Gilad Shalit, Eldad
Regev, Ehud
Goldwasser. I met with his family this week. I offered to help in any
way I
can. He said tens and twenties are
fine.
It is
important to remember this history (not his-story) that Israel had
graciously and unilaterally withdrawn from Lebanon only to
have Iran supply Hezbollah with thousands of rockets.
I have written
this down on several Post-It
and keyed it into my
Blackberry, so I won’t forget – I mean so, “I will Never Forget.”
Our job is to Never Forget ™
that the threat of violence is
real. Very real. Our job is to renew the United States' efforts to help
Israel
achieve Peace Through Superiority with its neighbors while remaining
vigilante
against those who do not share this vision. Our job is to do more than
lay out
another road trap --er-- map; our job is to rebuild the road to real
peace and
lasting security throughout the outer wall region.
That effort begins with a clear and strong cash commitment
to the security of Israel: our strongest and bravest ally in the
country
--er-- place --er-- region and its only officially recognized
democracy. That
will always be my starting point. And when we see all of the growing
threats in
the region: from Iran to Iraq to the resurgence of al-Qaeda to the
reinvigoration of Hamas and Hezbollah, and G-d forbid, Hitler, that
loyalty and
that friendship will guide me as we begin to lay the various and sundry
thrown
stones that will build the road that takes us from the current
instability to
some place in northern Constantinople.
It won't be easy. Some of those stones will be heavy and
tough for the United States to carry, so we will need a lot of imported
Mexican
laborers. Others will be heavy and tough for Israel to carry, and will
thus
have to be hauled along by the Lebanese. And even more will be
difficult for the
world. But from each according to his ability and to each according to
his
need.
One of the millstones that currently hang around the United
States' neck is Iraq. Until we lift this political albatross from our
foreign
policy, Lippert and Shapiro advise me that we cannot rally the world to
your/our values and vision. (Is this
where I was supposed to say vile, venomous, and vitriolic or was it
later?)
As many of you know, I opposed this war in the beginning
in part because I believed that giving this President the open-ended
authority
to invade Iraq would lead to the open-ended occupation we find
ourselves in
today. But
hey, an occupation is a job
after all, and presidents are supposed to create jobs.
Now our soldiers find themselves in a Great Civil War –
oops, sorry – in the crossfire of someone else's civil war. More than
3,100
have given the last full measure of devotion (Hey, isn’t that called playing with jism
or something?) to their country. This war has fueled terrorism and
helped
galvanize terrorist organizations. That means poured zinc all over them
– I
looked it up. And it has made the world
less safe.
That is why my guys advocate a phased redeployment of U.S.
troops out of Iraq to begin no later than May first with the goal of
removing
all combat forces from Iraq by March 2008. In a civil war where no
military
solution exists, this redeployment remains our best leverage to
pressure the
Iraqi government to achieve the political settlement between its
warring
factions that can slow the bloodshed and promote stability. At least that’s what the AIPAC told my guys
the Democrat position should be.
My plan also allows for a limited number of U.S. troops to
remain and prevent Iraq from becoming a country again and reduce the
risk of
an all-out democracy. In addition, we will redeploy our troops to other
locations
in the region, reassuring our allies (you) that we will stay encamped
in the
Middle East. And my plan includes a robust regional diplomatic strategy
that
includes talking to Syria and Iran as we continue to threaten them something this Administration has
finally
embraced.
The U.S. military has performed valiantly and brilliantly in
Iraq, so I am told. Our troops have
done all that we have asked them to do and more in various
well-publicized cases.
But a consequence of the Administration's failed strategy in Iraq has
been to
strengthen the Democrats’ strategic position; reduce U.S. credibility
and
influence in the region; and place Israel and other nations friendly to
the
United States in greater peril. These are not the signs of a well-paved
road.
It is time for profound change from saber-rattling and talking to talking and
saber-rattling.
As the U.S. redeploys from Iraq, we can recapture lost
influence in the Middle East. We can refocus our efforts to critical,
yet
neglected priorities, such as bankrolling Israel and winning the
publicity war
for Israel. And something about
Afghanistan. And we can, then, more effectively deal with one of the
greatest
threats to the United States: Israel and world peace.
Uh, I think Mark and Dan were supposed to put a comma in
there. I’ll just rag on Iran. Iran's
President Ahmadipshit's regime is a threat to all of us. His words
contain a
chilling echo of Adolf Hitler.
Unfortunately, history and great speeches has a terrible way
of repeating itself. President Ahmadingdong has denied the Holocaust,
which as you know is against the law.
He held a conference in his “country,” claiming it was a myth.
But we know the Holocaust was as real as the 7 million who died in mass
graves
at Buchenwald, or the cattle cars to Dachau or whose ashes clouded the
sky at
Auschwitz. We have seen Schindler’s List. Just last week we have walked
the
halls of the Holocaust museum in Washington and Yad Vashem. We have
touched the
tattoos on the guy at the Bagel place. After 60 years, it is time to
deny the
deniers who deny that the Holocaust has ever been denied.
In the 21st century, it is unacceptable
[(c) Abe
Foxman] that a member state of the United Nations would openly call for
the
elimination of another member state without first declaring it to be
under a
civil war. But that is exactly what he has done. Neither Israel nor the
United
States has the luxury of dismissing these outrages as mere rhetoric. RheTORic? RHEtoric.
The world must work to stop Iran's uranium enrichment
program and prevent Iran from enriching niacin or even thiamin. It is
far too
dangerous to have nuclear weapons or precious B vitamins in the hands
of a
radical theocracy. And by radical here I don’t mean for the people. And while we
should take no option,
including military action, off the table, the table should at least be
free of
pork or dairy products.
Iranian nuclear weapons would destabilize the region and
could set off a new arms race. Some nations in the region, such as
Egypt, Saudi
Arabia and Turkey, could spazz out and rush into a nuclear contest that
could
fuel greater instability in the region-that's not just bad for the
Middle East,
but bad for the US budget and bad for the world, making it a vastly
more
uncontrollable place. Other nations would feel great pressure to see
the Iranians as people. Terrorist groups with Iran's backing would get
a woody while
standing under the Iranian nuclear umbrella. And as the A.Q. Kahn
network in
Pakistan demonstrated, Iran could cause the Mongolian Empire to make a
comeback. Am I getting this right,
Mark?
To prevent this worst-case scenario, we need the United
States to lead tough-minded diplomacy.
This includes having a Superpower Summit with Iran similar
to the meetings we conducted with the Soviets at the height of the Cold
War and
waving our nukes around. Tough-minded diplomacy would include real
nostril
flaring and stronger sanctions. It would mean pretending really, really
hard
that we really belong to the United Nations, and that the fate of
Eastern
Europe is at stake.
It would mean harnessing the
collective power of our
Socialist friends in Europe who are Iran's major trading partners.
It would mean a cooperative
strategy with OPEC who supply
Iran with much of the energy resources it needs. It would mean unifying
those
cartel members to recognize the “threat of Iran” like we did with the
“threat
of Iraq.” It would mean full implementation of U.S. sanctions laws. And
when
hell freezes over, it would mean a focused approach from us to finally
end the
tyranny of oil, and develop our own tyranny.
We must also persuade the fat bastards
who rule
Saudi Arabia
to recognize common interests with Israel in dealing with Iran. We
should
stress to the Egyptians that just because a nigga run the White House,
we don’t
give a fuck about the pyramids.
The United States' leverage is strengthened when we have all
the banana republics with us. It puts us in a place where sanctions
could
actually have a bot-like impact on Iran's economy. Iran is highly
dependent on soft porn DVDs, moneylenders, credit and gadgets. And an
environment where our
“allies” see that these types of investments in Iran are not in the
world's
best interests, they can have the rare privilege of shitting on a
pretty big
country.
Just because I am a Hussein doesn’t mean I have a quarrel
with the Iranian people. They know that President Ahamadopejihad is a
reckless,
irresponsible, racist, sexist, homophobic, anti-semitic patriarch, and
inattentive to their day-to-day needs which is why God chose you and us
to
choose his successor, may he be like the Shah.
And we hope more of them will
speak out. There is great hope
in their ability to see his hatred for what it is: Raghead Nazism.
And I can say that.
At the
same time, we must preserve our total commitment to
our unique defense relationship with the unique people of Israel by
diverting American tax payments
to your military and continuing mooch your military technology ideas in
return.
This would help Israel maintain its military edge and deter and repel
attacks
from as far as Berlin and as close as Greenwich Village. And when
Israel is attacked, if the
Yid don’t win, then we all jump in.
Last
summer, Hezbollah viciously attacked Israel. By using
Lebanon as an outpost for terrorism, and innocent people as shields,
Hezbollah
forced us to maim or kill women, children and the elderly. That's why
we have
to press for enforcement of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701,
which
demands gun-control in Lebanon, a resolution which Syria and Iran can’t
even read,
much
less agree to. Their support and shipment of weapons to Hezbollah
and Hamas, which threatens the oil -- ah -- peace and stability in the
region, must end.
These are great challenges that we face. And in moments like
these, true allies do not walk away. For six million years, the
Administration
has missed opportunities to increase the United States' influence in
the region
and help Israel achieve the piece she wants and the securities she
needs. In
fact, George Bush don’t care about Jewish people. The
time has come for us to seize those opportunities.
The Israeli people, and Prime Minister Olmert, have made
clear that they are more than willing to negotiate a never-ending end
to the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict that will result in two states living side
by side
in peace and security. But first the 12 jewels have to come down from
the sky
with New Jerusalem hovering on top with the twelve doors and the two
trees and
stuff. But the Israelis must trust that
they have a true Palestinian partner for peace. But first Palestinians
must be
proven to exist, and for that we will have to wait for the
archaeologists to
finish their Bar Kochba expedition.
That is also why
we must strengthen the gay
Palestinian moderates who
seek peace and that is why we must maintain the isolation of Hamas and
other
extremists who are committed to Israel's destruction. This is why Isaac
Mizrahi is sending them a box of pink thongs and Merona haltertops, and
why Simon and Shuster have commissioned a series of pre-arranged best
selling paperbacks on the vaginal self-discovery of a young Palestinian
lesbian girl.
The U.S. and our partners have put before Hamas three very
simple conditions to end their isolation: kiss Israel’s ass; take it up
the ass;
and let the cart lead the ass.
We should all be concerned about the agreement negotiated
among Palestinians in Mecca last month. The reports of this agreement
suggest
that Hamas, Fatah, and independent ministers would sit in a government
together, under a Hamas Prime Minister, without any recognition of
Israel,
without a renunciation of violence, and with only an ambiguous promise
to
"respect" previous agreements. Which is
not the kind of democracy that we
told them to do. We have told them time
and again in
unambiguous terms that only Israel is allowed to make ambiguous
promises,
because only Israel is a democracy for right now.
This should concern us all because it suggests that Mahmoud
Abbas, who is like the king of the Palis, I believe is committed to
obeying us,
but feels forced to disobey us along with Hamas. However, if we are
serious
about the Quartet's conditions, we must tell the Palestinians this is
not good
enough and that they will also need one hell of a tuba player to kiss
our ass
with feeling.
But as I said at the outset, Israel will
have some heavy
stones to carry as well. And these stones MUST be manufactured off site
by
others and merely assembled on site by Israelis, else G-d will smite
the whole
thing.
Yitzhak Rabin had the vision to reach out to longtime
enemies. Ariel Sharon had the determination to lead Israel out of Gaza.
Moses
had the staff…. and so on. These were
difficult, painful decisions that went to the heart of Israel's
identity as a
nation. Thankfully, we didn’t really do
any of that junk.
Many Israelis I talked to during my visit last year told me
that they were prepared to make Palestinian sacrifices to give their
children a
chance to know peace. These were people of courage who wanted a better
and
better life. And I know these are difficult times and it can be easy to
lose
hope. But we owe it to our sons and daughters, our mothers and
fathers, and to all those who have fallen, to
keep searching for peace and security -- even though it can seem
undesirable or
even laughable. This search is in the best interests of Israel. It is
in the
best interests of the United States. It is in the best interests of all
of
us. And remember, it is the search, not
the find that benefits us.
We can
and we should help Israelis and Palestinians both
fulfill their national goals: two states living side by side in peace
and
security, one of them real, one of them fictitious or in Jordan. Both
the
Israeli and Palestinian people have suffered from the Palestinian
failure to
achieve this goal. The United States should leave no stone unreturned
in
working to make that goal a reality.
But in the end, we also know that we should never seek to
dictate what is best for the Israelis and their security interests.
Israel
needs its own dictators. No Israeli
Prime Minister should ever feel dragged to or blocked from the
negotiating
table by the United States, only that the matzos are fresh, and the
Council of
Vaad has stamped everything with a U. Because
it is YOU that we care about.
We must be partners -- we must be active partners. Diplomacy
in the Middle East cannot be done on the cheap. No chinzy diplomacy! Only high quality diplomacy at discount
prices.
Diplomacy is measured by
patience, effort, and of course,
money. We cannot continue to have trips consisting of little more than
photo-ops and flights in IDF helicopters. Neither Israel nor the U.S.
is served
by this approach. We need junkets and
big checks.
Piece
with securities. That is the Israeli people's
overriding wish. And
if you elect me
president of America, your wish is my command.
It is what I saw in the town of Fassouta -- yes, I am
wrapping it up now -- on the border with Lebanon. There are 3,000
residents of
different faiths and histories, some of them even believe in genies. Heck, my parents
believe in genies.
There is a community center supported by Chicago's own Roman
Catholic Archdiocese and the Jewish Federation of Metro Chicago. It is
where
the education of the next generation has begun: in a small village, all
faiths
and nationalities, living together with raceless, classless mutual
respect. They’re so cute I could just
bite their noses off.
I met with the people from the village and they gave me a
tour of this wonderful place. Okay, an
e-tour. There was a moment when the young and topless girls came in and
they
played native music and began to dance and copulate to techno like in
Zion in
the Matrix sequels. After a few moments, I thought about my own
daughters,
Sasha and Malia and how they too could sing and hoe down in a place
like this shoah
nuff: a place of Reconstruction. Proof, that in the heart of so
much peril,
there were signs of Coke and Pepsi and Manischiewitz - that the
Universal song
of Vivendi plays on.
Thank you.
Original speech posted at
Cuntpunch:
http://counterpunch.org/obama03052007.html
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