If these statements from the New York Times interview with Thomas Friedman are true …

Obama: Netanyahu will compromise only if pressured

(Ynet News) – In special interview with New York Times on Middle East, Obama says PM Netanyahu is too strong, Abbas too weak to advance peace deal, adds that it is ‘hard’ to see PM able to make concessions.

“Netanyahu is too strong (and) in some ways Abu Mazen is too weak,” US President Barack Obama said in a comprehensive interview with New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman Friday, commenting on the balance of power between Israel and the Palestinians.

In the interview, Obama outlined Israel’s development over the years. “It is amazing to see what Israel has become over the last several decades,” he said.

    “To have scratched out of rock this incredibly vibrant, incredibly successful, wealthy and powerful country is a testament to the ingenuity, energy and vision of the Jewish people. And because Israel is so capable militarily, I don’t worry about Israel’s survival,” Obama explained.

President Obama Talks to Thomas L. Friedman About Iraq, Putin and Israel  plus my comment added between brackets!

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Obama: Secr. of Defense and the Joint Chief of Staff identified climate change as one of our most significant national security problems.[earlier interview]

[U.S. INTELLIGENCE FAILURE ON STRENGTH ISIL AND WEAKNESS IRAQI ARMY]

The reason, the president added, “that we did not just start taking a bunch of airstrikes all across Iraq as soon as ISIL came in was because that would have taken the pressure off of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki.” That only would have encouraged, he said, Maliki and other Shiites to think: ” `We don’t actually have to make compromises. We don’t have to make any decisions. We don’t have to go through the difficult process of figuring out what we’ve done wrong in the past. All we have to do is let the Americans bail us out again. And we can go about business as usual.’ ”

Sorry Mr. President, you are faking reality.

Continued below the fold …

[Sorry Mr. President, you are faking reality. ISIL was rooted in the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, grew stronger as Maliki maximised Shia authority, but invaded Northern Syria because you and NATO with partners GCC states decided to overthrow president Assad. One year ago, you were about to bomb the hell out of Assad’s military which would have allowed Al Nusra Front and ISIL to walk into the Syrian capital Damascus. Any idea of the massacre that would have caused?]

[FULL QUOTE ON U.S. FAILURE IN PEACE TALKS]

“It is amazing to see what Israel has become over the last several decades,” he answered. “To have scratched out of rock this incredibly vibrant, incredibly successful, wealthy and powerful country is a testament to the ingenuity, energy and vision of the Jewish people. [Wow! Do I hear Republican runner-up Mitt Romney talking?] And because Israel is so capable militarily, I don’t worry about Israel’s survival. … I think the question really is how does Israel survive. And how can you create a State of Israel that maintains its democratic and civic traditions. How can you preserve a Jewish state that is also reflective of the best values of those who founded Israel. And, in order to do that, it has consistently been my belief that you have to find a way to live side by side in peace with Palestinians. … You have to recognize that they have legitimate claims, and this is their land and neighborhood as well.”

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Obama had a laugh in the Oval Office earlier this year in 2012. But will they be as chummy next year? (NY Times)

Asked whether he should be more vigorous in pressing Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and the Palestinian Authority’s president, Mahmoud Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, to reach a land-for-peace deal, the president said, it has to start with them. Prime Minister Netanyahu’s “poll numbers are a lot higher than mine” and “were greatly boosted by the war in Gaza,” Obama said. “And so if he doesn’t feel some internal pressure, then it’s hard to see him being able to make some very difficult compromises, including taking on the settler movement. That’s a tough thing to do. [When PM Ariel Sharon decided to pull out of Gaza, he could do so because he polled such high numbers after the military action on the West Bank in Jenin and Ramallah, also building the separation wall] With respect to Abu Mazen, it’s a slightly different problem. In some ways, Bibi is too strong [and] in some ways Abu Mazen is too weak to bring them together and make the kinds of bold decisions that Sadat or Begin or Rabin were willing to make. It’s going to require leadership among both the Palestinians and the Israelis to look beyond tomorrow. … And that’s the hardest thing for politicians to do is to take the long view on things.” [Perhaps you should heed the advice given by Jimmy Carter, a bold U.S. President you didn’t bother to mention!]

[MORE BS, ONE CAN’T COMPARE LIBYA WITH SYRIA!]

Clearly, a lot of the president’s attitudes on Iraq grow out the turmoil unleashed in Libya by NATO’s decision [blaming NATO Mr. President?] to topple Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, but not organize any sufficient international follow-on assistance on the ground to help them build institutions.

“I’ll give you an example of a lesson I had to learn that still has ramifications to this day. And that is our participation in the coalition that overthrew Qaddafi in Libya. I absolutely believed that it was the right thing to do. … Had we not intervened, it’s likely that Libya would be Syria. … And so there would be more death, more disruption, more destruction. But what is also true is that I think we [and] our European partners underestimated the need to come in full force if you’re going to do this.”