Obama in Israel

You have to give the man credit. He knows how to put on the charm when he wants to. And he has utterly charmed many, many Israelis.

“We were prepped in advance for any question he may ask us,” Farhi revealed. “Obama went one by one and asked us about our jobs personally. When he saw my name tag he immediately addressed me by my name,” she remarked.

“I was very moved by his warm and fatherly attitude. He skipped no once, showed genuine interest, and spoke to us as equal with absolutely no mannerisms. He was just like any other person. It was fun seeing him talk to us common soldiers.”

And oh yeah–he learned of one reason why Israel is so far superior to its neighbors:

The US president was apparently surprised to learn that so many female combatants operate the Iron Dome, Farhi revealed.

Obama was top-notch from the moment he landed. Click the link for the video. The “red line” comment was quite funny. (Amir Peretz running after him and glad-handing him was pathetic, on the other hand.) He even charmed a bunch of kids.

But his real agenda is what lies behind the smiles.

Washington is well-aware it cannot take on such a task alone during this bloody “medieval” period in the region. The solution: Creating an axis of stable Sunni countries to counter the Iran-led radical Shiite axis, which is seeking hegemony in the Middle East. The main candidates to join this pro-Western axis are the Gulf States, Turkey, Jordan, Egypt and perhaps Algeria and Morocco as well. These countries will assist each other in times of crisis, destroy the murderous Global Jihad groups, and coordinate their moves. This is already happening in Syria.

Washington wants Israel to be a quiet partner in this axis so that the Jewish state will be able to cooperate with its neighbors over the table, and mainly under it. This could be beneficial in the event that the US or Israel – or both countries – attack Iran. For the sake of this cooperation Obama will likely ask Netanyahu to show restraint and calm in the Palestinian arena and ask Abbas to refrain from attempting any empty diplomatic provocations that will anger Israel and foment unrest in the territories.

His agenda hasn’t changed much. Obama has learned from bitter experience that he can’t force a peace treaty. But that won’t stop him from trying to make peace in the Middle East part of his legacy. And while the media is claiming that the trip is one big photo op, they seem to forget that symbols matter. The Arab world is watching the American President tour important symbols that depict Israel’s strength (an Iron Dome battery), history, and ties to the land. He’s visiting the Israel Museum to see the Dead Sea Scrolls and will visit Theodor Herzl’s grave. Herzl, in case you didn’t know, was the father of modern Zionism.

As for the Palestinians? Well, they were awfully busy defacing pictures of Obama. They are not happy. No matter what happens tomorrow, the symbolism was all Israel’s this time around. The Palestinians are, effectively, an afterthought. This was Obama’s big Israel trip, and Bibi played it perfectly.