Mitchell, Munich Mastermind

Would you trust the man on the left?

United States Middle East envoy George Mitchell warned Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Thursday that America will not budge from its commitment to carving out a new Palestinian Authority state from within Israel's current borders.Mitchell, who arrived in Israel Wednesday evening, made the comment after he met for the first time with Lieberman in his new role as foreign minister. Lieberman raised eyebrows earlier in the month when he stated that the Netanyahu government would not be bound by decisions made in Annapolis in November 2007, noting the government had never ratified them, nor had the Knesset approved them.Mitchell said, "The U.S. policy favors a two-state solution, which would have a Palestinian state living in peace alongside with the Jewish State of Israel."

Interior Minister Eli Yishai commented that regardless of what the administration of U.S. President Obama might want, Israel could not be forced down a path that might be unrealistic. Eli Yishai said, "The preferable course of diplomatic action at this time is two economies for two peoples, and not two states for two peoples," Yishai told reporters. "The American emissary also knows that forcing the region into virtual diplomatic discourse will only breed the opposite results."

Wednesday night Mitchell met with Defense Minister Ehud Barak, and before meeting with Lieberman had already held talks with President Shimon Peres. Peres told Mitchell that while Israel has always been interested in achieving peace in the region, it would not be at the expense of Israel’s security.

The issue of weighing Israel's security against America's interests in the region is not new; it has also become an increasingly sensitive topic in high-level discussions over how to deal with the Iranian nuclear development threat.

White House Chief of Staff and head of the U.S. Gestapo, Rahm Emanuel told an American Jewish leader that a PA state would be forced down Israel's throat by the end of Obama's term, regardless of which government rules. Emanuel said, "In the next four years, there will be a final status agreement between Israel and the Palestinians, based on 'two states for two peoples,' and we couldn't care less who the prime minister is."

A source in the Obama administration also said that the U.S. would not help Israel neutralize the Iranian nuclear threat unless Jerusalem agrees to disengagement in Judea and Samaria. This is the so-called "Bushehr for Yitzhar" plan whereby the U.S. would swap its help in neutralizing the Bushehr nuclear reactor and other installations in exchange for Israel destroying the Samarian Jewish community of Yitzhar and approximately 170 other neighboring towns.

If I were the Israelis I would not trust the U.S. on this matter. There is nothing that would comply the U.S. to take action in regard to Iran and 0nce Judea and Samaria are gone Israel has no leverage.

Essentially the Obama administration is blackmailing Israel and telling the Israelis create a state for the Palestinians and carve up Jerusalem or the U.S. will allow Iran to go nuclear. This is absolutely absurd. If Iran goes nuclear and deploys ICBMs the U.S. will be directly threatened. Iran considers us the “Big Satan”.

The Obama administration is courting disaster with its policy of appeasement to the Arabs. Our true friend in the region is Israel but we seem to be determined to sell Israel down the proverbial river. Israel will have to attack Iran without any allies because the world refuses to stand up to the Nazis in Iran. This appeasement will eventually come back to haunt the U.S. and its allies.

Despite Israel's urgent warnings that time is running out, the U.S. has committed itself to an unlimited time frame on negotiations with the Islamic Republic over its uranium enrichment program. Israeli intelligence officials are convinced that Iran is working toward development of an atomic weapon.

It seems divinely ironic that "sell out" Neville Mitchell arrives in the region and an earthquake rattles southern Lebanon.

A quake shook south Lebanon causing some panic among local residents, but no damage or casualties were reported. The Lebanese Bhannes Center for Seismic and Scientific Research says Friday's earthquake registered up to 4.3 on the Richter scale and was centered in an area around 17 kilometers east of the southern port city of Tyre.

The quake's epicenter was in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. The earthquake caused panic among civilians in south Lebanon. Some people left their homes and went into the streets after the jolt, which started at around 2:10 p.m. Beirut time and lasted a few seconds. Residents in the capital Beirut and parts of Mount Lebanon also felt the quake. Earthquakes have often rattled South Lebanon in the past couple of years. Last year, the inhabitants of the southern villages of Srifa were forced to remain in tents for several weeks after repetitive quakes shook their small village. Friday's jolt was also felt in northern Israel. Israeli media said the residents of Haifa reported feeling the earth shake for several seconds.