144th Edition Obama

Spiritual Ministries Mind Spirit Body Vibrational Medicine Research, Healing and Education Center.
How What Kind of Rating Do You Believe Our President Deserves?
Rev. Tonie C. Wallace Dream-Founder and Director

Dear All One Family:

I know that many are no longer watching the news service and don't have a clue what is a going on in our land...I say lots of stuff and perhaps too much stuff for any individual to do much with...for some of the things that our president is being forced to handle is tricky in itself for it deals with levels of other people's opinions and thoughts...and a world that is quick to draw up conclusions of their own...

I thought that I would break for a moment and remind all about the newsletter posting I made of my church's visiting pastor and his talks about impending change and transformations and then as you proceed backward to the previous newsletter see all of my writings about change and transformation and him as well a mentioning Israel and Pakistan...

So in reality, you received the news before it became public knowledge...now how cool is that for confirmations given those paying attention?

Yet before I go there, allow me to reveal to you the testimony of a current Harvard student, who volunteered her time to not only assist democratic nominee Barack Obama and Joe Biden in their run for office in the Iowa Caucus...as to what kind of job she believed they were a doing.

She stated that she is still happy with her decision and choice and that she as well felt that he (meaning the president) was perhaps a moving too slow in her estimation on the agreed campaign promise of allowing gay marriage rights...

I told her that even though it wasn't my choice in alternative life style...I still support that government can not over take the land...free choice was a given us all and what we are and how we are a living is found acceptable to those/God/Jesus and Holy Spirit a choosing it folks...than I for one celebrate their very being, for I have my being that I know is answerable to God/Jesus and Holy Spirit alone to contend with...

For while I am a tripping through others back yard and not a paying attention to my own...I might be found asleep...and trust me...it is alright to travel through the path of discovering other people's ideologies...and fault finding discoveries, just understand that it will be your own actions or lack of that will be up question...

Having said that, please allow me to also state that I told this Harvard second year student that our dear president for only having a little over one hundred days in office has done many of the things that he had promised before taking office...and with the Norte Dame crap...of not knowing if he (meaning our president) would be found acceptable to give the current graduating class commencement speech there...was almost too representative of why we are a having problems in the land...

I hear the president's thoughts on Norte Dame a questioning rather it was a good move or not to have him present there...of which in my perception, he told them that he was grateful that he didn't dislike them for their religious beliefs that are different than his own...

Have I not always told others here that all that I ask is that you take that which you want and do please leave the rest...for all are on different levels of awareness...from the look out point I see...I see many traditional religious folks that will never see stem cell research in a good light and for those I say...perhaps you have your reasons, yet our president states that he will put into place, safe guards to make sure we don't become a baby killing type of land...for research purposes only...

Now on the other hand, he is for all making the decision to end or begin a new life given to the one that is with child...and not allowing the government to call the shots...I have to agree with this idea as well...not because I believe that abortions are a good thing...for I don't and never will...I just believe that we should not allow government to control our every decision...

For how can you take one size and fit all? Think about it...

I also told this Harvard second year student...that were she a hearing what my Republican clients/friends and family members were a saying about President Obama and his vice president side kick that needs duct tape for his mouth at times...I also told her that with so many directions that our president needs to travel to try and stop the destruction progression that our past legislators, Congress and Senators had allowed get put into place, plus all of the world not a understanding the need that we have to work together...

And that if he were to try this campaign promise on the table at this given moment in time...gay marriage rights...I can just a see those religious believers that would cry foul again...even though I know within my every cell being that I can only judge within myself what is my right and wrong for me, what it is for another is totally their free choice, for it will be only my own wagon I will be a pulling when it is time for me to graduate and go Home...

Thus I see more right with gay marriage rights, than wrong...for all kinds of legal technicalities come into play when gay marriage rights aren't a honored...insurance, taxes, property, children and on and on and on...

Thus I found it quite appropriate in order to show all that my posting of my visiting pastor from my church this past Sunday, was rather synchronistic...for all got here, the news before it was the news...this is called prophecy for filled...for as the visiting pastor uttered to us all present there...major changes and transformations getting ready to happen...and the mention of Israel and Palestine and Iran, North Korea...that prophecy came into being...

Also, after you read the enclosed news releases, understand like our Pastor's wife Brenda spoke this past sunday concerning her brother...("faith the size of a mustard seed, and one can move mountains") "that it wasn't enough to just move the mountain, one also had to speak into it and command it to withdraw.

I say, that anytime one is placed directly into history making moments...jump into it and celebrate the moment...for our president was a very wise choice...look at what he has already done in one hundred days and see what work he has on his plate before you judge him this or that...

I know that it is impossible to make everybody happy all of the time, that is why I think politics stinks for you always have to find the middle ground, even when the best middle ground is quick sand...yes, that be right, that is my story and I am a sticking to it...

I love our president because he is an analytical man...and only wants to give the world his best and I believe that he and his family are doing the best job that can be expected since he was given such a broken land...

Those are my thoughts, take what you need and do please leave the rest...just know that it is quite easy to find negatives more so than positives...yet I say, strive to see the good, versus always the bad and maybe then, just maybe...life will take on more brillant hues of changing colors than the dark, drab ones of yesterday...

Just my thoughts...

Thus I give the presidential family a A Plus, Plus!

Also for those a keeping score of how many years have passed since I graduated...It was 40 and not 30 as I had wrote to M.J. The president of our high school graduating class, sent me an email just moments prior to my sending M.J., the rather long email posting...and asked would I be present for the 40th year celebration? Coming up in June.

This was the first reunion invite I had received in almost forty years so needless to say...I am impressed...and what else impressed me is the fact that I left this website's address in my profile so those like K.M., would happen upon it and realize that I did do exactly what I had told him that I would one day do...write about the moment I couldn't tell him about before...

Will I finally go and par take of the reunion next month? I don't believe that I will have arrived by that time or not...for I don't want to go as the current person that many believe God/Jesus and Holy Spirit are a punishing me for at this time...

So I might not make this year's reunion...maybe the next five to come...that is the best I can give all at this time...

So having said all of that, allow me to post the news articles that I do hope will find, informative and necessary to follow with prayers...

Be Blessed All Forever
Love, Light and Peace
Tonie

SOUTH BEND, Ind. - More than two dozen pro-life protesters were arrested at Notre Dame University Sunday as President Barack Obama told a graduation ceremony at the Catholic school that both sides in the abortion debate must stop demonizing one another.


Obama acknowledged that "no matter how much we want to fudge it ... the fact is that at some level, the views of the two camps are irreconcilable." But he still implored the University of Notre Dame's graduating class and all in the U.S. to stop "reducing those with differing views to caricature. Open hearts. Open minds. Fair-minded words. It's a way of life that always has been the Notre Dame tradition."

One of the noisiest controversies of his young presidency flared after Obama, who supports abortion rights but says the procedure should be rare, was invited to speak at the school and receive an honorary degree. "I do not suggest that the debate surrounding abortion can or should go away," the president said.

The Rev. John Jenkins, Notre Dame's president, introduced Obama and praised the president for not being "someone who stops talking to those who disagree with him." Jenkins said too little attention has been paid to Obama's decision to speak at an institution that opposes his abortion policy.

Ahead of Obama's address, at least 27 people were arrested on trespassing charges. They included Norma McCorvey, the plaintiff identified as "Roe" in the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion. She now opposes abortion and joined more than 300 anti-abortion demonstrators at the school's front gate.

More than half held signs, some declaring "Shame on Notre Dame" and "Stop Abortion Now" to express their anger over Notre Dame's invitation to Obama.

Obama entered the arena to thunderous applause and a standing ovation from many in the crowd of 12,000. But as the president began his commencement address, at least three protesters interrupted it. One yelled, "Stop killing our children."

The graduates responded by chanting "Yes we can," the slogan that became synonymous with Obama's presidential campaign. Obama seem unfazed, saying Americans must be able to deal with things that make them "uncomfortable."

The president ceded no ground. But he said those on each side of the debate "can still agree that this is a heart-wrenching decision for any woman to make, with both moral and spiritual dimensions.
"So let's work together to reduce the number of women seeking abortions by reducing unintended pregnancies, and making adoption more available, and providing care and support for women who do carry their child to term."

He said he favored "a sensible conscience clause" that would give pro-life health care providers the right to refuse to perform the procedure.

Before taking on the abortion issue, Obama told graduates they were part of a "generation that must find a path back to prosperity and decide how we respond to a global economy that left millions behind even before this crisis hit an economy where greed and short-term thinking were too often rewarded at the expense of fairness, and diligence, and an honest day's work."

Obama's appearance appeared additionally complicated by fresh polls that show Americans' attitudes on the issue have shifted toward the anti-abortion position.

A Gallup survey released Friday found that 51 percent of those questioned call themselves "pro-life" on the issue of abortion and 42 percent "pro-choice." This is the first time a majority of U.S. adults have identified themselves as "pro-life" since Gallup began asking this question in 1995.

Just a year ago, Gallup found that 50 percent termed themselves "pro-choice" while 44 percent described their beliefs as "pro-life."

A Pew Research Center survey found public opinion about abortion more closely divided than it has been in several years.

Pew said its latest polling found that 28 percent said abortion should be legal in most cases while 18 percent said all cases. Forty-four percent of those surveyed were opposed to abortion in most or all cases.

Gallup said shifting opinions lay almost entirely with Republicans or independents who lean Republican, with opposition among those groups rising over the past year from 60 percent to 70 percent.

The abortion issue also is front and center as Obama considers potential nominees to fill the vacancy left by the retirement this summer of Justice David Souter. Abortion opponents are determined to see Roe v. Wade overturned, but only four court justices out of nine have backed that position. Souter has opposed arguments for overturning the ruling.

The Catholic Church and many other Christian denominations hold that abortion and the use of embryos for stem cell research amount to the destruction of human life, are morally wrong and should be banned by law.

The contrary argument holds that women have the right to terminate a pregnancy and that unused embryos created outside the womb for couples who cannot otherwise conceive should be available for stem cell research.

Within weeks of taking office in January, Obama eased an executive order by President George W. Bush that limited research to a small number of stem-cell strains.

On the Notre Dame campus, members of an abortion rights group also protested while a plane pulling an anti-abortion banner circled above. Tara Makowski of Seattle, who received a master's degree Saturday from the school, said she was dismayed by the way Notre Dame was being characterized.

"Seeing us being portrayed nationally as radical conservative has been really tough," she said. "People need to realize that the majority of students and faculty" favored Obama's visit.

But Bishop John D'Arcy, whose diocese includes Notre Dame, skipped commencement. He attended an open-air Mass and rally. He said he wanted to support the students protesting Obama's speech.
"All of you are heroes, and I'm proud to stand with you," he said.

Obama was the ninth president to receive an honorary degree from Notre Dame and sixth sitting president to address graduates. Other commencement speakers have included Dwight Eisenhower, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush.

Back in Washington, Vice President Joe Biden attended Mass with his family at Holy Trinity Church, where a granddaughter received her first Communion.


By TONY KARON Tony Karon – Mon May 18, 8:50 am ET
President Barack Obama welcomes Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House on Monday, at a moment when the White House and the Israeli leadership are undeniably at odds over the path to Middle East peace. While the Obama Administration remains steadfastly committed to Israel's security, its ideas on how to achieve that security differ markedly from those of the hawkish Netanyahu government. As Obama moves to revive the stalled Middle East peace process, Monday's meeting has been widely predicted to be a tense affair, but that may be overstating the drama. Netanyahu, like any Israeli Prime Minister, has an overwhelming incentive to get along with Israel's single most important ally; Obama, for his part, needs to fashion a peace process that produces results, for which he requires Netanyahu's cooperation. So Monday's encounter won't be a showdown as much as the opening exchange of a difficult conversation that could continue for months.
Herewith, a short guide to the issues that divide Obama and Netanyahu:
A Two-State Solution?
The idea of creating an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel on the territory it occupied in 1967 is the overwhelming international consensus, accepted even - according to opinion polls - by a majority of Israelis. The Obama Administration is not content to simply articulate that vision, as President George W. Bush did; instead, it seeks to move briskly toward realizing such a solution before the evolving facts on the ground make it untenable. Netanyahu, however, has refused to endorse the principle of Palestinian statehood, insisting that sovereign independence for the Palestinians would endanger Israel's security. The Palestinians, Netanyahu has argued until now, will have to settle for a more limited form of self-government within borders still effectively controlled by Israel. Despite some speculation that he might make a rhetorical concession on the statehood issue on Monday, a top aide told the Israeli media Netanyahu would not do so - at least, not yet. (See pictures of Israel's recent war in Gaza.)
The Administration has made clear that it expects Israel to work toward a two-state solution. Netanyahu is expected to agree to talk to the Palestinians, to ease their circumstances and build their economy. But he maintains that trying to reach a final-status agreement right now is misguided and counterproductive, arguing that the priority is to build Palestinian administrative, security and economic capacity - and to tackle Iran, which he sees as a spoiler to any peace effort. (See pictures of Israel at 60.)
Next: What Gets Priority?
Iran First?
Netanyahu will argue that Washington's goals are best achieved if it gives priority to curbing Iran's nuclear and geopolitical ambitions before separating Israel from the Palestinians. He claims his Arab neighbors agree that reining in Iran is the region's priority, because it threatens their own stability. Given Tehran's support of Hamas, he'll say progress toward peace between Israel and the Palestinians is impossible until Iran has been pushed back. (See pictures of Jerusalem divided.)
Obama will agree that curbing Iran's regional influence and limiting its nuclear activities is an urgent priority. But the U.S. President won't buy Netanyahu's sequencing. Resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict remains a matter of urgency, Obama will argue, and he'll point out that the moderate Arab neighbors with whom the Israelis want to stand against Iran are also the ones most urgently insisting on the immediate implementation of a two-state solution with the Palestinians, whose unresolved plight strengthens radicals against moderates. Netanyahu will say no progress is possible on the Palestinian front until Iran is defanged; Obama will argue that rallying Arab support against Iran's ambitions requires resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Next: The Timetable
What's the Hurry?
Netanyahu will argue that whether the outcome is two states or something less, this is not the moment to try to conclude the peace process. The Palestinians are hopelessly divided, with the moderate Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas lacking the political authority to deliver on any peace promises. Indeed, the PA President's term of office expired in January, and polls show he'd lose to Hamas in an election held now. Instead of final-status negotiations, Netanyahu will advocate building the Palestinians' administrative and security capacity, and promoting economic development, in enclaves currently under Abbas' control. Without this infrastructure of stability - and the neutralizing of Hamas - he'll argue, no progress is possible. (See pictures of Hamas-Fatah conflict.)
Obama will make clear that whatever stability has been created thus far in the West Bank is premised on the achievement of Palestinian statehood, and will collapse without rapid movement along that path. Politically, President Abbas' Fatah movement suffers from the fact that its moderation and almost two decades of negotiation has seen only an expansion of Israel's occupation of the West Bank. Fatah cannot remain committed to a peace process without end if it is to reverse its declining political fortunes among its own people. The same may be true for the U.S.-trained security forces that have helped subdue the West Bank. Hamas has proven to be an intractable reality of Palestinian political life, and Obama may argue that a workable peace process would require its consent. Most importantly, he'll note that time is running out for Abbas and the Arab regimes that have cooperated with Israel and have come away empty-handed in the eyes of their own people.
Next: The Settlements
Freeze the Settlements
Obama will tell Netanyahu that stability is undermined, potentially fatally, by Israel's continued expansion of its settlements in the West Bank, and by its moves to extend control over East Jerusalem, captured by Israel in the 1967 war but claimed by the Palestinians as their future capital. But Netanyahu's government includes strong settler representation, and while he'll unenthusiastically promise to dismantle outposts built in violation of Israeli law, he's unlikely to court a confrontation with the settlers unless there are substantial political rewards. He'll insist on maintaining the "natural growth" of Israel's settlements, and reiterate his view that sharing Jerusalem with the Palestinians is a nonstarter. (See pictures of Israeli settlers resisting eviction.)
Next: Gaza
Unfreeze Gaza
The Gaza war earlier this year forced the Israeli-Palestinian issue to the top of the Obama Administration's agenda, and although the fighting has ended, no formal cease-fire has been agreed, and the Israeli blockade - and Palestinian political infighting - has prevented any of the $4.5 billion pledged for reconstruction by international donors from actually reaching the territory. The potential remains high for a renewed outbreak of fighting, and Obama will press Netanyahu to ease Israel's blockade to allow in construction materials and normalize economic traffic. Netanyahu remains committed to overthrowing Hamas in Gaza, and he wants Obama to pursue the same course. And his government will insist on securing the release of captive soldier Gilad Shalit before easing up on Gaza.
Next: Dealing with Iran
How to Handle Iran
While supporting Obama's diplomatic efforts, Israel wants to see time limits imposed to prevent Iran playing for time while increasing its nuclear capabilities. Netanyahu has repeatedly warned that if diplomacy fails, Israel stands ready to bomb Iran's nuclear facilities. Obama agrees that negotiations with Iran should not be open-ended, but will allow a longer time frame than that preferred by the Israelis for diplomacy to succeed. Israel's leaders believe Iran will not back down and that negotiations are necessary primarily to win support for stronger sanctions or military action. Israel has agreed to refrain from attacking Iran without first consulting the U.S. following reported warnings from the White House to avoid surprising Obama, whose military and security advisers have long argued that military strikes on Iran would cause more problems than they would solve. Once the diplomatic process with Tehran gets under way, the two sides may also disagree on where to draw the bottom line on uranium enrichment on Iranian soil.
View this article on Time.com
Related articles on Time.com:
• Israel's New Leader: Can the U.S. Work With Netanyahu?
• Israel's New Government Won't Make Obama's Middle East Task Easier
• Looking Ahead and Back on Netanyahu Meeting Obama
• Is Obama Ready for a Hard-Right Israel?
• Netanyahu to the White House




By AMY TEIBEL, Associated Press Writer Amy Teibel, Associated Press Writer – 2 hrs 36 mins ago
WASHINGTON – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is signaling he may resist President Barack Obama's pressure to support Palestinian statehood as the two leaders try to tackle an array of Mideast issues Monday on which they disagree.
A senior aide to Netanyahu, national security adviser Uzi Arad, suggested the Israeli leader might not yield to pressure from Obama for a two-state solution to the Middle East conflict. He also seemed to hint that Israel might consider military action against Iran when he said there was a "sense of urgency" in Israel over the Iranian nuclear threat.
Such rhetoric suggests diplomatic high stakes as the two men hold their first White House meeting against a backdrop of disagreement over several key issues: U.S. overtures to once-shunned Iran and Syria and pressure on Israel to support a Palestinian state.
The Obama administration is trying to promote dialogue with Iran and Syria, Israel's arch foes. Israel fears such efforts could lead to greater tolerance for Iran's nuclear ambitions.
Prior to Netanyahu's trip, confidant Zalman Shoval, a former ambassador to the United States, said the Israeli leader would ask the Americans to give Iran a deadline of "a very few months" to comply with international demands to halt its enrichment of uranium — a process that can be used to build nuclear bombs.
"If by then we have not reached an agreement with you, all other options are still on the table," Shoval added in a clear allusion to a military strike.
Before his Feb. 10 election, Netanyahu derided the latest round of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, which stalled late last year, as a waste of time.
Jewish settlement activity is another source of potential conflict with the United States.
In Israel on Monday, settlers announced that government officials have begun taking bids to build infrastructure for a fledgling Jewish community deep in the West Bank. The timing of the announcement could cause friction at the Obama-Netanyahu meeting.
Palestinians want Obama to tell the Israelis that they have obligations under an existing U.S.-backed peace plan to accept the two-state solution and stop settlement construction, said Saeb Erekat, a top aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and longtime negotiator.
While not opposing the Obama administration's efforts to promote dialogue with Iran and Syria, Israel is skeptical. Like Washington, it dismisses Tehran's claims that its nuclear program is peaceful and fears the U.S. outreach could lead to greater tolerance for Iran's nuclear ambitions. The Israelis are also worried by the recent diplomatic shuttles to Syria for fear they reward Damascus even as it maintains close ties to Tehran and harbors Iranian proxies that have warred with Israel, Lebanon's Hezbollah and Gaza's Hamas.
Still, there have been mixed signals from the Israelis on the Mideast peace process ahead of the Obama-Netanyahu meeting.
Israel's president, Shimon Peres, said Sunday in Jordan that Netanyahu would abide by agreements signed by his predecessors, including the U.S.-backed Mideast peace plan calling for a two-state solution to the conflict with Palestinians. Peres said progress depended on an end to attacks by Hamas militants and greater Palestinian efforts to ensure Israel's security.
Netanyahu has tried to persuade the Americans that Iran, with its nuclear ambitions and anti-Israel proxies in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, must be reined in before peacemaking with the Palestinians can progress. Israel's security services see the Netanyahu-Obama meeting as crucial in this regard, and the military chief of staff, the head of military intelligence and the Mossad chief all held lengthy meetings with the prime minister ahead of the trip, defense officials said.
The meetings focused on what Israel sees as Iran's attempt to develop nuclear weapons and on the effect that would have in strengthening Iran's allies in Hamas and Hezbollah and undermining the stability of Western-allied Arab countries.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the meetings were not made public.


WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama proposed on Tuesday the first U.S. regulation of auto emissions in a bid to reduce climate-warming greenhouse gasses and lower dependence on foreign oil.
The initiative is centered around the strictest plan ever for increasing fuel standards for passenger vehicles, sharply raising pressure on struggling automakers to make more efficient cars and trucks.
Obama said at the White House the plan would give carmakers new certainty about federal regulatory policy and permit them to better plan for the future as struggling domestic companies restructure.
"The status quo is no longer acceptable," Obama said. "We have done little to increase fuel efficiency of America's cars and trucks for decades."
The proposal would require the U.S. passenger vehicle fleet to average 35.5 miles per gallon (6.6 litres/100km) by 2016, saving 1.8 billion barrels of oil. It would also instruct the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate tailpipe emissions for the first time.
The proposal, if finalized, would also resolve a longstanding dispute between California and the government over the state's attempt to regulate emissions to curtail global warming.
The Obama administration said California would yield to the new federal policy and that a series of lawsuits around California's efforts led by the auto industry would be dropped.
(Reporting by John Crawley, Editing by Doina Chiacu)


By TONY KARON Tony Karon – Mon May 18, 8:50 am ET
President Barack Obama welcomes Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House on Monday, at a moment when the White House and the Israeli leadership are undeniably at odds over the path to Middle East peace. While the Obama Administration remains steadfastly committed to Israel's security, its ideas on how to achieve that security differ markedly from those of the hawkish Netanyahu government. As Obama moves to revive the stalled Middle East peace process, Monday's meeting has been widely predicted to be a tense affair, but that may be overstating the drama. Netanyahu, like any Israeli Prime Minister, has an overwhelming incentive to get along with Israel's single most important ally; Obama, for his part, needs to fashion a peace process that produces results, for which he requires Netanyahu's cooperation. So Monday's encounter won't be a showdown as much as the opening exchange of a difficult conversation that could continue for months.
Herewith, a short guide to the issues that divide Obama and Netanyahu:
A Two-State Solution?
The idea of creating an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel on the territory it occupied in 1967 is the overwhelming international consensus, accepted even - according to opinion polls - by a majority of Israelis. The Obama Administration is not content to simply articulate that vision, as President George W. Bush did; instead, it seeks to move briskly toward realizing such a solution before the evolving facts on the ground make it untenable. Netanyahu, however, has refused to endorse the principle of Palestinian statehood, insisting that sovereign independence for the Palestinians would endanger Israel's security. The Palestinians, Netanyahu has argued until now, will have to settle for a more limited form of self-government within borders still effectively controlled by Israel. Despite some speculation that he might make a rhetorical concession on the statehood issue on Monday, a top aide told the Israeli media Netanyahu would not do so - at least, not yet. (See pictures of Israel's recent war in Gaza.)
The Administration has made clear that it expects Israel to work toward a two-state solution. Netanyahu is expected to agree to talk to the Palestinians, to ease their circumstances and build their economy. But he maintains that trying to reach a final-status agreement right now is misguided and counterproductive, arguing that the priority is to build Palestinian administrative, security and economic capacity - and to tackle Iran, which he sees as a spoiler to any peace effort. (See pictures of Israel at 60.)
Next: What Gets Priority?
Iran First?
Netanyahu will argue that Washington's goals are best achieved if it gives priority to curbing Iran's nuclear and geopolitical ambitions before separating Israel from the Palestinians. He claims his Arab neighbors agree that reining in Iran is the region's priority, because it threatens their own stability. Given Tehran's support of Hamas, he'll say progress toward peace between Israel and the Palestinians is impossible until Iran has been pushed back. (See pictures of Jerusalem divided.)
Obama will agree that curbing Iran's regional influence and limiting its nuclear activities is an urgent priority. But the U.S. President won't buy Netanyahu's sequencing. Resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict remains a matter of urgency, Obama will argue, and he'll point out that the moderate Arab neighbors with whom the Israelis want to stand against Iran are also the ones most urgently insisting on the immediate implementation of a two-state solution with the Palestinians, whose unresolved plight strengthens radicals against moderates. Netanyahu will say no progress is possible on the Palestinian front until Iran is defanged; Obama will argue that rallying Arab support against Iran's ambitions requires resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Next: The Timetable
What's the Hurry?
Netanyahu will argue that whether the outcome is two states or something less, this is not the moment to try to conclude the peace process. The Palestinians are hopelessly divided, with the moderate Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas lacking the political authority to deliver on any peace promises. Indeed, the PA President's term of office expired in January, and polls show he'd lose to Hamas in an election held now. Instead of final-status negotiations, Netanyahu will advocate building the Palestinians' administrative and security capacity, and promoting economic development, in enclaves currently under Abbas' control. Without this infrastructure of stability - and the neutralizing of Hamas - he'll argue, no progress is possible. (See pictures of Hamas-Fatah conflict.)
Obama will make clear that whatever stability has been created thus far in the West Bank is premised on the achievement of Palestinian statehood, and will collapse without rapid movement along that path. Politically, President Abbas' Fatah movement suffers from the fact that its moderation and almost two decades of negotiation has seen only an expansion of Israel's occupation of the West Bank. Fatah cannot remain committed to a peace process without end if it is to reverse its declining political fortunes among its own people. The same may be true for the U.S.-trained security forces that have helped subdue the West Bank. Hamas has proven to be an intractable reality of Palestinian political life, and Obama may argue that a workable peace process would require its consent. Most importantly, he'll note that time is running out for Abbas and the Arab regimes that have cooperated with Israel and have come away empty-handed in the eyes of their own people.
Next: The Settlements
Freeze the Settlements
Obama will tell Netanyahu that stability is undermined, potentially fatally, by Israel's continued expansion of its settlements in the West Bank, and by its moves to extend control over East Jerusalem, captured by Israel in the 1967 war but claimed by the Palestinians as their future capital. But Netanyahu's government includes strong settler representation, and while he'll unenthusiastically promise to dismantle outposts built in violation of Israeli law, he's unlikely to court a confrontation with the settlers unless there are substantial political rewards. He'll insist on maintaining the "natural growth" of Israel's settlements, and reiterate his view that sharing Jerusalem with the Palestinians is a nonstarter. (See pictures of Israeli settlers resisting eviction.)
Next: Gaza
Unfreeze Gaza
The Gaza war earlier this year forced the Israeli-Palestinian issue to the top of the Obama Administration's agenda, and although the fighting has ended, no formal cease-fire has been agreed, and the Israeli blockade - and Palestinian political infighting - has prevented any of the $4.5 billion pledged for reconstruction by international donors from actually reaching the territory. The potential remains high for a renewed outbreak of fighting, and Obama will press Netanyahu to ease Israel's blockade to allow in construction materials and normalize economic traffic. Netanyahu remains committed to overthrowing Hamas in Gaza, and he wants Obama to pursue the same course. And his government will insist on securing the release of captive soldier Gilad Shalit before easing up on Gaza.
Next: Dealing with Iran
How to Handle Iran
While supporting Obama's diplomatic efforts, Israel wants to see time limits imposed to prevent Iran playing for time while increasing its nuclear capabilities. Netanyahu has repeatedly warned that if diplomacy fails, Israel stands ready to bomb Iran's nuclear facilities. Obama agrees that negotiations with Iran should not be open-ended, but will allow a longer time frame than that preferred by the Israelis for diplomacy to succeed. Israel's leaders believe Iran will not back down and that negotiations are necessary primarily to win support for stronger sanctions or military action. Israel has agreed to refrain from attacking Iran without first consulting the U.S. following reported warnings from the White House to avoid surprising Obama, whose military and security advisers have long argued that military strikes on Iran would cause more problems than they would solve. Once the diplomatic process with Tehran gets under way, the two sides may also disagree on where to draw the bottom line on uranium enrichment on Iranian soil.
View this article on Time.com
Related articles on Time.com:
• Israel's New Leader: Can the U.S. Work With Netanyahu?
• Israel's New Government Won't Make Obama's Middle East Task Easier
• Looking Ahead and Back on Netanyahu Meeting Obama
• Is Obama Ready for a Hard-Right Israel?
• Netanyahu to the White House