Coming within a hair’s breadth of winning in Iowa has brought increased credibility to former Sen. Rick Santorum’s (R – PA) campaign, but it has also added to domestic and internationally scrutiny of comments made during the final days of the campaign.
In particular is Santorum’s insistence that “there are no Palestinians” and that there is no such thing as Palestine, a comment which attempted to mirror Newt Gingrich’s controversial statement to that effect (ironically because Santorum himself took Gingrich to task for making such a claim at a debate). The effort was seen as attempting to curry favor with pro-Israel voters, but in Santorum’s case risks having the opposite effect.
That’s because while Gingrich claimed that the Palestinians were actually just a bunch of sneaky Arabs living under occupation just to make Israel look bad, Santorum insisted that not only is the West Bank “Israeli” but everyone living there is an Israeli too.
It is that last part that is political kryptonite, as while the Israeli Lobby is likely more than comfortable claiming the whole West Bank, those 2.5 million Palestinians living there, currently with only a bare minimum of human rights, are another matter entirely.
Israel has long fretted internally about the “demographics” problem, that the nation’s Arab citizens are growing as a percentage of the overall population. Already 20 percent of the population, the Arab population threatens to become increasingly assertive in demanding equal rights and a society of religious pluralism, as opposed to the “Jewish state” demanded by so many in the majority.
This is a major concern when Israel only has 1.5 million Arab citizens. The annexation of the West Bank and a Santorum-style declaration that the 2.5 million Palestinians there are “Israelis” would turn Israel’s Arab population into 4 million. If the 1.5 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are treated in the same manner, Israel becomes an Arab-majority state overnight.
Santorum’s statement then boils down to what Israel’s lobbying base fears the most, the dreaded “one state solution” where Israel in its current configuration ceases to exist.
I think it is wonderful that Santorum is pushing for a one state solution. It has always been the only way to resolve this issue. One state with equal rights for all, Muslim Jew, and Christian is the answer. Do you think Rick's Neocon friends will like him more now?
Santorems opining on other peoples and other regions of the the world and how they should run their affairs is an example of the interventionist mindset.____
The mentality seems to be that the US is the master of the universe, and all the other little countries of the world must bow down and listen to what the master country, (the US), has planned for them. Being responsible for the goings on in the entire planet is such an awesome responsibility, but thankfully **Rick Santorem** has thought about all this, and has the wisdom to know what is best for all of our territories. After all, he has 7 kids, and is Catholic, and believes in God. With his vast experience and store of knowledge, certainly he can be trusted to do God's will.
"the US is the master of the universe…"
But when the Right-wingers talk about American Exceptionalism", that's what they are talking about.
i'm curious: Why isn't AnyBody asking why, all of a sudden, this Two-if-not-Three-Time Loser is SUDDENLY a winner!?!
Sit back — if you will, if you dare — and watch as The Game unFolds… beCause They really don't care any more. BeCause They Know that yOU will play it.
After all, what else can you do?
"…SUDDENLY a winner!?! …"
Simple: It's Iowa and you have a smooth-talking religious fanatic against a smooth-talking pagan-cultist. Neither one knows what they're talking about but one of them is a Christian and the other one ain't (so the Iowa Christians say).
Once Santorum leaves Iowa, reality will raise it's ugly head and things will return to normal (normal? – well, I didn't say it would be good!!)
Santorum’s thoughts are not being taken all the way. Clearly if his ilk had their way not only would Israel have the West Bank and Gaza as part of a larger Israel – they would no longer contain the 'non-existent' Palestinians currently living there. The language being used is purposeful in its end to ensure that a people that don't 'exist' are easier to sweep away to Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.
the majority of american people think israel is under arab occupation…
they dont realize the palestinians are in concentration camps and are stateless people. they dont know that the palestinians dont have, and will never be offered citizenship by anyone, namely israel.
lastly, most americans dont give a rats @ss about a bunch of arabs. we have killed several hundred thousand in iraq ourselves.
do you think anybody in this country will shed a tear for the palestinians?
I can really see the Likudians Liking that idea, NOT
All persons in Israel Israeli citizens does that include the Psuedo Annex of Gaza, the place where the the citizens cannot leave without the permission of the Israeli Government.
america"s politicans are such incredible fools it defies the intelligence of an imbecile,and to think for one moment that they would like to tell others what to do IS EVEN MORE ABSURD.
Please. America´s politicians are not fools, they are puppets being run by the Puppet Masters. OK, so they are both fools and puppets.
It was pretty remarkable watching the MSM work so tirelessly to manufacture the ‘Santorum -Surge’. I watch the Ed Show on MSNBC and for what seemed about two weeks, it was basically wall-to-wall fluffing of Santorum with occasional pauses to call RP a racist. On Tuesday night I watched their round table where the Rev Sharpton left no doubt as to what kind of ‘team player’ he is. It’s always eye-opening to watch the left and right media-istas come together to protect the status quo.
It all began with "De Fetus"…then came Abortion… and the bankruptcy of Social Security…..then a comment about men and dogs or was it dogs and men…..followed by "I'll nuke the hell out of Iran" first thing I doo doo as POTUS…..then a tweet from an "unexpected, wink, wink supporter" by the name of Lord Rupert Murdoch… the an out of the blue "foreign policy" statement about "No, non Palestine" and an embrace by ideologue Ralph Reed and pronto one million in cash raised after Iowa.
Now he can claim that an angel named Gabriel is lookeen out for him. And thats why all of a sudden he is da winner jgmeobus.
I'm sure the zionists recognize that Diablorum's heart was in the right place when he said that. There is only israel and nothing else, only israelis and no one else. That which others call "Arabs" and "Palestinians" have no actual existence, let alone humanity. They are like the rocks the now-israelis found in the desert when they stepped down from their flights from Europe. They are part of the landscape but not more. And Diablorum will come out and clarify "his" position soon enough in case there is confusion.
Palistine is a land not a people.
the so called' palistians' are made up of various Arab peoples.
The whole land was given to the Hebrews by 1st God
and 2nd, The Balfour Declaration which was ratified by the League of Nations
Thus, the land belongs to the Hebrews and the people who call themselves 'Palstinians' are the occupiers,.
Palestine is land, not a people…very good, I am proud of you. You may be able to pass first grade geography. Germany, France, England, Austria, China, Egypt are also lands, not a people. But like those who live in Palestine and are called Palestinians, those who live in Germany are called Germans; those who live in France are called French; those who live in England are called English; those who live in Austria are called Austrians; those who live in China are called Chinese; and those who live in Egypt are called Egyptians!
Palestinians are not historic Arabs; they are mostly the Arabized descendents of those who were living in Palestine when the Arabs arrived. Even if they were historic Arabs, this would be irrelevant.
The bestowing of a land by a fictitious god within an ancient book of myths is totally irrelevant. Even if it was not, the people now called the Palestinians are obviously more closely related to the Hebrews than European Jews – duh, they were the ones living on the land when the Zionists conquered it!
The declarations of imperialist powers and defunct world organizations are irreverent!
One has to marvel at the Orwellian who completely inverts reality! War is peace; freedom is slavery; and the native population who have been living in Palestine from time immemorial are occupying those who invaded it!
God gave the land to Palestinians. Prove me wrong.
Palestinians have the very same status as did the Indians in American History – they are and were not considered as human beings.
That's why Americans have such empathy for Israel and its methods.
One downside of spreading fatuous propaganda to your enemies is that a few of your moron friends like Rick "the ghoul" Santorum and allies come to believe the propaganda. No problem, though, they can get away with it. MSM historians can just channel into their short memories.
"If the 1.5 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are treated in the same manner, Israel becomes an Arab-majority state overnight." Except that Israel claims Gaza "has been wiped off the face of the earth" and is no longer of interest. (Its fierce bombing etc and imprisoning of it notwithstanding).
Israel has far too much priority in US and world affairs, and Sick Rantorum is indicative of the level of truth. He is there to ensure Obama, the best of the Repugs, will easily win the "election".
It shows stupidity of future presidents, scary for humanity, it shows power of Zionist lobby, but unfortunaly stupidity of majority of US uneducated voters. Only Ron Paul would be choice, but US/Israel drive for endless wars and terrorism is the winner. Sad for whole humanity. Untill this "devil partnership" exists, we can say god buy to peace on planet Earth.
The characters of last several elections are the product of american education. Either poor on general knowledge (history, geography) or medieval religious indoctrination. The rest is a second rate tabloidism, ignorance and unimpressive arrogance. Could it be worse? American ingenuity has no limits.
“The effort was seen as attempting to curry favor with pro-Israel voters, …”
Why is it that all American politicians, with few exceptions, kiss Israel’s ass. As an American I feel ashamed.