Michael Kinsley said that a gaffe is when a politician speaks the truth. If that’s so, I suppose Sen. Biden’s recent statement about there being an international crisis withing six months of Sen. Obama’s election as president would qualify as one.

“Mark my words,” the Democratic vice presidential nominee warned at the second of his two Seattle fundraisers Sunday. “It will not be six months before the world tests Barack Obama like they did John Kennedy. The world is looking. We’re about to elect a brilliant 47-year-old senator president of the United States of America. Remember I said it standing here if you don’t remember anything else I said. Watch, we’re gonna have an international crisis, a generated crisis, to test the mettle of this guy.”

“I can give you at least four or five scenarios from where it might originate,” Biden said to Emerald City supporters, mentioning the Middle East and Russia as possibilities. “And he’s gonna need help. And the kind of help he’s gonna need is, he’s gonna need you - not financially to help him - we’re gonna need you to use your influence, your influence within the community, to stand with him. Because it’s not gonna be apparent initially, it’s not gonna be apparent that we’re right.”

(h/t LGF)

Of course, Biden has to show that this will be because some countries will want to test the new president’s mettle. He doesn’t suggest that the Sen. Obama’s may invite this crisis.

However, Elder of Ziyon recently observed that Iran welcomed Sen. Obama’s initiative to talk with them with no preconditions, if only he would apologize to Iran and come begging.

The frontrunner for President of the United States looks as if he is begging to negotiate with Iran, and Iran appears to be considering granting that wish if only the lowly US works a little harder at its begging.

As Barry Rubin shows, though, Sen Obama’s statement (and the belief so prevalent in the media and in “sophisticated” foreign policy circles) that reaching out to Iran can only bring good, is not just naive, it is historically ignorant.

“I have been involved in the search for the elusive Iranian moderate for 30 years.” Then Gates revealed what was actually said at Brzezinski’s meeting, in which he participated, summarizing Brzezinski’s position as follows:

“We will accept your revolution….We will recognize your government. We will sell you all the weapons that we had contracted to sell the Shah….We can work together in the future.”

The Iranians demanded the United States turn over to them the fugitive Shah, who they would have executed. Brzezinski refused. Three days later Iran seized the embassy and forever changed the Middle East. The road thus paved led to the Iran-Iraq and Iraq-Kuwait wars, the power of Hamas and Hizballah, September 11, 2001, and a great deal more. Many thousands would die due to American timidity and Iranian aggressiveness.

Had the United States been a mean bully in its treatment of the new Islamist Iran? The On the contrary, Washington did everything possible to negotiate, conciliate, and build confidence. We’ll do almost anything you want, Carter and Brzezinski offered, just be our friend. Far from being appeased Iran demanded such a total humiliation–turning over the fatally ill, deposed Shah for execution–even that administration couldn’t accept it.

Biden’s statement is a refreshing reminder of the dangers that await the United States should his ticket win the election. Biden, though, probably didn’t think he was admitting as much.

Crossposted at Soccer Dad.

A possible smuggling tunnel was just discovered under the city of Hebron. Explosives from that tunnel were removed by the PA police who then alerted Israeli officials. That makes it the perfect time to give the PA even more control over Hebron!

On Wednesday, IDF regional commanders and Civil Administration head Brig.-Gen. Yoav Mordechai will meet with their Palestinian counterparts to finalize details ahead of the planned deployment - possibly later this week - of 700 Palestinian policemen in Hebron.

Barak has presented the plan to US security coordinators for the region Generals Keith Dayton and James Jones, as well as to Quartet envoy Tony Blair, senior defense officials told The Jerusalem Post.

Following the deployment in Hebron, the Defense Ministry is also considering adopting the “Jenin model” in Nablus, Tulkarm and Kalkilya.

This would be called a confidence building measure as it gives the terrorist organizations masquerading as Palestinian government even more confidence that they can carry out their unholy work unmolested.

And let’s not forget that Iran is reportedly exerting greater influence in Judea and Samaria.

Crossposted on Soccer Dad.

Interesting story from the Jerusalem Post, but how should I feel about it?
Should I be encouraged by this?

The 150-meter-long tunnel was discovered by Palestinian Authority security forces on Monday and was immediately reported to the IDF, which sent an Engineering Corps force to destroy the structure.

IDF sources and defense officials said Tuesday that the tunnel had been found empty and that it was unclear what its purpose was.

Or discouraged by this?

The Post learned on Thursday, however, that several hundred kilograms of explosives and arms were found in a branch of the tunnel and that the PA security forces confiscated it before informing the IDF of the discovery.

Israel Matzav says I should be discouraged:

Let’s stop right there for a minute. WHERE did all of those weapons go? Obviously, back to the ‘Palestinians’ who put them there, which shows us all the limits of ‘Palestinian’ cooperation with the IDF and the security forces

Plus he shares some informed speculation what the purpose of the tunnel was.

This is the second recent escalation in the business of tunneling. Hmm, will the PA follow the lead of Hamas and start regulating them?

Seriously though, this suggests that Hamas is exporting its tunneling technology to PA areas.

Crossposted on Soccer Dad.

Both the Hashmonean and Shira Bat Sarah noted this story in comments.

The first mention was in Ha’aretz:

U.S. President George W. Bush has apparently offered his Syrian counterpart, Bashar Assad, to press Israel to withdraw from the Golan Heights if Damascus promises to cut its relations with Iran, the Kuwaiti newspaper al-Jareida reported on Friday.

According to the report, Bush made the offer in a handwritten letter transferred to Assad by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

The second was in Ynet:

“In the letter, Bush suggested finalizing the agreement within several weeks, before the US presidential elections, in order to push the Middle East peace process, an achievement the president will be able to proudly present before leaving the White House in January.”

The same source added that the delegation accompanying Abbas on his visit to Syria “was unaware of the letter or its details, and the US insisted that this be carried out secretly and far away from the official channels.”

The newspaper went on to report that the American ambassador to Damascus was not informed about the issue as well.

I’m not familiar with all the protocols of diplomatic contacts but this seems highly irregular. While I’ll acknowledge that in many ways President Bush has been a disappointment when it comes to Israel, this suggests that he has totally rejected deeply held beliefs that have held sway over much of his term in office.

Why would anyone trust a secret letter to Abbas, someone whose own standing is somewhat in doubt? Wouldn’t such a message be given to a Syrian envoy rather than to another (nominal) head of state?

And of course Abbas or someone close to him would have a reason to fabricate this letter. They’d be suggesting that Israel ought to deal with Syria - and by extension, Abbas - before it is forced to. This news story seems to be taken from David Landau’s “rape” fantasy.

Joshua Landis, not someone I’d usually quote, also finds the story incredible.

The following Haaretz report sounds completely untrustworthy. How could Abbas and his entourage be “unaware of the content of Bush’s letter,” for Assad and yet the Palestinian who has presumably leaked the contents to Haaretz was in the know? How could Jack Khoury publish something that sounds so improbably silly?

He writes that Ha’aretz has retracted the story, but links to the original article.

Like I wrote above, President Bush has been something of a disappointment regarding Israel, but promising to pressure Israel over the Golan in order to wean Syria away from Iran seems a bit much. And the claim from Abbas or someone near him is just not credible.

Crossposted on Soccer Dad.