Redstate

Posted at 10:33am on Jun. 7, 2008 Hannity drills down on Obama and Khalidi

By Soren Dayton

I have written some about Rashid Khalidi. Now Hannity is drilling down on the relationship. Watch it:

Posted in 2008 | Barack Obama | Rashid Khalidi | Sean Hannity — Comments (21) / Email this page » / Read More »

Posted at 8:24am on May 12, 2008 Obama, Hamas, Obama's circle, and Iran's grand strategy

By Soren Dayton

Much has been written about the firing of Bob Malley by Barack Obama's campaign. Commentary's Jen Rubin asks one of the most important questions. What do Obama's statements on Iran and the Palestinian question have to do with expressions of support?

Hamas endorsed Obama. It is worth considering why. Is it because he favors direct, presidential talks with Hamas’ sponsor Iran? Or because Hamas sees him as lacking resoluteness or as excessively sympathetic to the Palestinian cause? And it’s not as if Hamas is an isolated case of fringe groups and individuals favoring Obama.

Consider Jen's first question in the context of this from today's Washington Times, quoting a Hamas official:

"What happened in Gaza in 2007 is an achievement; now it is happening in 2008 in Lebanon. It's going to happen in 2009 in Jordan and it's going to happen in 2010 in Egypt," Sheik Khader said in an interview. "We are seeing a redrawing of the map of the Middle East where the forces of resistance and steadfastness are the ones moving the things on the ground."

An Israeli legislator sees something quite concrete in this "redrawing":

"What is going on in Lebanon at this hour is actually the overthrow of Lebanon by Hezbollah. The democratic Lebanese government will become a puppet government — an Iranian dream," said Ze'ev Boim, a lawmaker from Israel's governing Kadima party. "It is particularly awful to see an Iranian battalion on the northern border of Israel."

Note that Hamas sees "the forces of steadfastness ... advancing" while an Israeli legislator sees this in terms of "an Iranian battalion on the northern border of Israel." A fundamental question for the next President is how he will respond to this "steadfast" pressure from Iran. Enter a view of Barack Obama that has currency in Arab and pro-Palestinian circles, courtesy of an LA Times story entitled "Allies of Palestinians see a friend in Barack Obama":

And yet the warm embrace Obama gave to Khalidi, and words like those at the professor's going-away party, have left some Palestinian American leaders believing that Obama is more receptive to their viewpoint than he is willing to say.

It is important to consider how a view of Barack Obama that has currency in the Middle East connects with Iran's strategy on the ground. Read on.

Posted in 2008 | Barack Obama | Hamas | Rashid Khalidi — Comments (22) / Email this page » / Read More »

Posted at 2:22pm on Apr. 26, 2008 Obama, Ayers, and Wright

How many friends will it take?

By Soren Dayton

Today, Jim Geraghty over at NRO caught this line from another Jeremiah Wright sermon, "We cannot see that what we are doing is the same as al-Qaeda, under a different color flag." Remember, that this is the guy who has been Obama's friend for over 20 years, married him, baptized his children, and provided spiritual guidance to Obama.

I remember a statement that I noticed earlier from Bill Ayers, who I will now refer to as Barack's bombing blogging buddy, "I’ve never advocated terrorism, never participated in it, never defended it. The U.S. government, by contrast, does it routinely and defends the use of it in its own cause consistently." Ayers, of course, gave money to Obama and hosted his first campaign event in 1996.

The Politico's Ben Smith says:

The politics of this depend on whether you think there's room for nuance in a conversation like this -- for seeing Wright as a man of the left, and a sometimes hyperbolic preacher, but not an extremist; or whether any mention of him at all just fuels the impression that Obama comes from too far out a place.

I think it may also depend on how many more of these there are. Like alleged PLO associate Rashid Khalidi who hosted a fundraiser in 2000. Even Talk Lefters are worried about that.

Posted in 2008 | Barack Obama | Bill Ayers | Jeremiah Wright | Rashid Khalidi — Comments (12)/ Email this page » / Read More »