Obama Diplomacy in action.
US Mid-East Envoy George Mitchell rose and shook the ‘US stick’ at the Israelis by suggesting the US was going could ‘cancel’ US loan guarantees to Israel last Thursday. You can really tell the Bush team is gone. Anyway, the Israeli Finance minister responds – go ahead. Jerusalem Post.
Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz on Sunday said Israel was not planning to make use of US loan guarantees in the near future and has managed to raise funds without guarantees.
Of course, there is now the ‘official’ denial of the threat. Ynet News:
An American official said Saturday night that Mideast envoy George Mitchell’s remark that US aid to Israel may be jeopardized was not a threat, but a response to an interviewer’s question on the American administration’s options if Israel refused to resume peace talks with the Palestinians. “It was not a threat and not an implied threat,” the senior official told Ynet.
The problem with using the ’stick’ approach is that everyone just gets tired of the same old stick and before you know it; your stick because a twig or pussy willow. But ironically, given the dismal state of the US economy there may yet come a day when US needs Israel to undersign the loan guarantees for the Obama Administration – given Israel’s economy is currently growing at 4% and the shekel is quite strong.
And I could accept the American official’s explanation; except this isn’t George Mitchell’s first, second or third time round the diplomatic circle. He is an old-time Mid-East hand and he knows very well every word uttered is taken under consideration and duly weighed by all parties. I suspect the Obama administration wanted to test the ‘waters’ but perhaps Mitchell’s time would be better used for polishing the carrots – or even finding one.
