Obama and Israel Posted by Ilan Goldenberg

Dan Benjamin and Steven Simon have a great piece in the Forward about Obama and Israel's security. Everyone knows that there is a bipartisan consensus in the United States for supporting Israel's military and being committed to its security.  No candidate for public office from either party would argue against that point. As Benjamin and Simon point out:

President Bush’s political allies have propagated the myth that he has been the best friend Israel ever had in the White House. Israel, however, does not need another four or eight years of that kind of friendship. It needs a leader in the Oval Office who will use all the instruments of American power to advance our national interests in peace and regional security — which is the best way to safeguard Israel today and in the future.

They go beyond that surface support provided by Bush and McCain and convincingly make the case that Obama's policies towards the peace process, Iran, Iraq, Syria and terrorism will all make Israel safer.  McCain and Bush's won't.  In the end saying  you are a friend of Israel is not enough.  Implementing smart policies that act to stabalize the Middle East and are thus good for the United States, and by extension Israel, is what is necessary.  More  excerpts below the fold

When George W. Bush entered office, Israel was in the throes of the Second Intifada, but its strategic position within the Middle East was as strong as it has ever been. Israel was at peace with Egypt and Jordan. Its northern borders with Lebanon and Syria were relatively quiet, and more distant foes in Iraq and Iran did not pose an imminent threat.

Eight years later, the region’s stability has been shredded by the botched invasion of Iraq. Iran, Israel’s most dangerous enemy, is now ascendant, a power to reckon with from its border with Afghanistan to Lebanon’s Mediterranean coast. The region’s moderate Sunni regimes, lacking confidence in American power, are closer to pursuing their own nuclear options.

Hezbollah, Iran’s ally in Lebanon, is now a more menacing player. Iran’s client in the Palestinian territories, Hamas, rules in Gaza — in part because the Bush administration disregarded Israeli warnings about letting the group run in an election, while doing nothing to shore up moderates. Much of this owes to our failure in Iraq and the Bush administration’s neglect of the Middle East peace process, which enabled Iran to extend its reach and gave radicals a powerful boost.

Today, there are two candidates for president who support a strong Israeli military. But John McCain has consistently backed the Bush administration policies that created the current disastrous situation. In contrast, Barack Obama seeks not only to buttress Israel’s military strength but to reduce the threats to the Jewish state and the likelihood that Israeli soldiers will again go into battle.

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