Just as it has in the United States, Barack Obama’s strategic ambiguity in regard to the Middle East and foreign policy in general has definitively shown up on Europe’s radar screen.
“The candidate of American Democrats, Barack Obama, is campaigning with the help of the American Jewish lobby. Going further than many presidential candidates before him; Obama calls for an ‘undivided Jerusalem’ and threatens to do ‘everything in my power to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.'”
Then highlighting the source of the global confusion, Weidenfeld continues:
“Confusing for many voters are the contradictory statements that Obama has made about the most controversial foreign policy issues. On the question of the moment: “How should we deal with Iran?,” Obama offers ambiguous answers. Before liberal students, he portrays himself as a true pacifist. However, before the pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC – the acronym for the praised or damned Jewish lobby – he declares with the deepest conviction that there will be no limits when it comes to preventing Iran from manufacturing nuclear weapons.”
But Weidenfeld cautions that after the campaign, whoever wins will have to engage in ‘intellectual decontamination’ to clarify where the winner truly stands.
By Lord George Weidenfeld*
Translated By Ulf Behncke
June 14, 2008
Germany – Die Welt – Original Article (German)
The candidate of American Democrats, Barack Obama, is campaigning with the help of the American Jewish lobby. Going further than many presidential candidates before him; Obama calls for an “undivided Jerusalem ” and threatens to do “everything in my power to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.”
Unedifying scenes are playing out in the camps of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. A close associate of the Clinton campaign returned to London from the campaign trail and poured her heart out over the “betrayal” by long-time partisans of the couple, secret lists of “defectors” and the arrogant behavior of Old-Clintonians toward the new generation.
In all seriousness, some see a promising candidate in popular daughter Chelsea – sixteen years from now . One of the central reasons for the official reconciliation between Clinton and Obama seems to be that it will enable Senator Clinton to have the financial contributions she made to her own campaign refunded by the winner – something that is completely legitimate.
Confusing for many voters are the contradictory statements that Obama has made about the most controversial foreign policy issues. On the question of the moment: “How should we deal with Iran?,” Obama offers ambiguous answers. Before liberal students, he portrays himself as a true pacifist. However, before the pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC – the acronym for the praised or damned Jewish lobby – he declares with the deepest conviction that there will be no limits when it comes to preventing Iran from manufacturing nuclear weapons.
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