Thursday, July 31, 2014

Obama Caught On Tape: Unanswered Questions

ד' לחודש החמישי תשע"ד

President Obama
PM Netanyahu
By now you have all heard of the allegations of a leaked segment of a tape recorded, private conversation be U. S. President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. The tape recording was claimed to have been obtained by Israeli Channel One News from an American official.

"A reporter for Israel's Channel One claimed a "senior US official" leaked the 35-minute recording to him, which he said took place during a conversation between the two on Sunday."

Here is a transcript of the conversation in question, translated from Hebrew, translated from English:

Obama: I demand that Israel agrees to an immediate, unilateral ceasefire and halt all offensive activities - particularly airstrikes.

Netanyahu: What will Israel receive in return for a ceasefire?

Obama: I believe that Hamas will stop firing rockets - silence will be met with silence.

Netanyahu: Hamas violated all five previous ceasefires, it is a terrorist organization which is dedicated to the destruction of Israel.

Obama: I repeat and expect Israel to unilaterally stop all its military activity. The pictures of destruction from Gaza distance the world from Israel's position.

Netanyahu: Kerry's proposal was completely unrealistic and gives Hamas the military and diplomatic advantage.

Obama: Within a week of the end of Israel's military activities, Qatar and Turkey will begin negotiations with Hamas on the basis of the 2012 understanding [following the end of Operation Pillar of Defense - ed.], including Israel's commitment to removing the siege and restrictions on Gaza,

Netanyahu: Qatar and Turkey are the biggest supporters of Hamas. It is impossible to rely on them to be fair mediators.

Obama: I trust Qatar and Turkey, and Israel is in no position to choose its mediators.

Netanyahu: I object, because Hamas is able to continue and to fire rockets and to use tunnels for terror attacks...

Obama - interrupts Netanyahu mid-sentence: The ball is in Israel's court - it is obligated to end all military activities. 
U. S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro denied the the validity of the discovered tape recording, as did the Israeli Government, in spite of Israeli Channel One's claims.
U. S. Ambassador Dan Shapiro
American? Jew? Chicago Bears fan?
Here are some questions which I am positive you have already thought of.
So, is the tape recording real or not?

Who is behind it getting it leaked to the press?

Did Prime Minister Netanyahu give the order to have the tape leaked?

Is left-wing Channel One waking up to how dangerous Obama is to Israel? Or is it just desperate for a scoop?
Now, here are a few more questions which you might have thought of, yet.
Did Obama's people have the tape leaked in order to make Netanyahu look bad? Not for his stance against Hamas, but for having appearing to have leaded the tape of a classified conversation?

Who leaked the tape, knowing full well that it would be suspected of being a forgery? Does this matter?

It does seem that Netanyahu gains from this, showing his constituents that he is "standing up" to U. S. pressure, and that we "need him."

Now let's see if he follows through, and really does stand up to the U. S.. . If not, then someone who wants to make Bibi look bad (ie. worse) will seem more likely to have been behind this.

Why this was "leaked" now, and not earlier or later?

If the tape is fake, then what?
Life in Israel, never a dull moment...which, of course, begs the question, is this tape-gate just a distraction? If so, from what?

What do "they" want to hide from us this time?

6 comments:

jihad brief said...

Let's not over-think this now. Perhaps Obama folks leaked the transcript, probably faked, to distract the press from discussing the plane in Ukraine, for which they have no answer to Putin's posture. Look press, don't ask why I'm ineffectual in Ukraine. Just look how meddlesome I can be elsewhere.

Esser Agaroth said...

MD Wag,

Thanks for your comment.

Yes, there is definitely plenty of opportunities to over think the issue.

Regarding the Ukraine,...your theory is as good as anyone else's.

Neshama said...

Other questions being discussed elsewhere

Can one really tape the pres's white house phone? Was it a landline or his blkberry? How can one tape a blkberry?

Was it really a 'tape' when they are outdated and are not being used anymore? Think digital.

Has anyone grilled the reporter for his truthfulness?

Is it possible for anyone to listen in on the W H phone, I.e. is it bugged? Could it be Russia?!

Esser Agaroth said...

Neshama,

All good points...

I still feel compelled to focus on what this is all suppose to accomplish. What was this supposed to distract us from. MD Wag says the Ukraine. Maybe.

I think the picture is much bigger than all of this, and perhaps this is all to keep us focused on the details of the daily news, and ignore the person behind the curtain, or that there even is a curtain.

Billy said...

Does it really matter?

Dubya Bush was the most pro-Israel US President ever and he practically begged Olmert to destroy Hizballah, but the IDF still lost anyway.

Bibi had to deal with a more hostile US administration, but would a neutral or even supportive administration made any difference? I can't see how it would have.

The IDF is a glorified police force. It is designed for maintaining a semblance of control, for protecting arabs and for destroying Jewish communities. It can't even stop terrorist attacks without a huge amount of help from it's PLO collaborators. Actually, it can't even achieve its primary mission, destroying Jewish communities, unless it has help from its Yesha Council collaborators.

Israel lost this war and we should be glad. Just as Israel's defeat in the 2nd Lebanon war bought the residents of Judea and Samaria 8 years of quiet, so this defeat should by us another 10 years at least. And by that time we will have at least 125,000 Jews living beyond the security fence which should kill any hopes of withdraw from even the most delusional Meretznik.

What's humorous about all this is that Bibi's failure in this war has made it clear that Olmert was probably the best PM Israel has had since Shamir. Olmert is and was a scumbag, but he was a great PM.

I like Bibi, but the guy is just a joke.

Esser Agaroth said...

Dubya, most pro-Israel? That's not saying much, I guess.

Arab oil still came first in his book.

I have to admit, that Olmert wasn't bad in contrast to the others.

I'm not so sure that Jews in Yehudah and Shomron will have quiet.

A tent and other structure put up in K'far Tapu'ah by IDF soldiers was taken down by the same IDF, while they were off fighting.

But, you're right about the Yesha Council, or the preferred Pesha or Resha Council.

The IDF found the time to dismantle the soldiers' home. But, it was the Tapu'ah Council which reported the "illegal" structure.

But, to answer your question as to why it matters, I will simply say what I have already been saying to my friends asking the same thing regarding this issue and others.

I tend to focus on the details. They're like a puzzle to me I have to figure out.

I like to try and "connect the dots."

Someone who is much better at it than I am is Tomer Devorah. See Gaza Psy-Ops.

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