Halpern: The French Connection

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by Micah Halpern

Issue of April 23, 2010/ 9 Iyar 5770

Foreign affairs between allies is not only about friendship based on shared interests and concerns, it is also about mutual gain. Often, one side will provide the other incentives so that, in the end, both sides benefit. The term for this diplomatic dynamic is “to incentivise foreign relations.”

France is one of the greatest players in the game of foreign affairs. Two of France’s best diplomatic friends are the United States and Israel. Each relationship stands on its own. There is France and the United States and there is France and Israel, there is no triumvirate. The relationships work. France has access. More importantly, France has access and influence on worlds that have been closed to both Israel and the United States.

The Obama administration is aggressively pursing the French. Nikolas Sarkozy, President of France, is in regular contact with US President Barack Obama and a welcome guest in Washington. The two men agree on many global issues and, although it pains the Obama administration to admit it, France is a more effective lead on many issues than is the United States especially on the question of Iran’s nuclear technology. It is France that can corral Europe, parts of Asia, Russia and even Africa to join the anti Iranian nuke bandwagon — not the United States.

Under Sarkozy diplomatic relations between France and Israel have gone from cold and impenetrable to warm and workable. Unlike his predecessors, Sarkozy has been a major supporter of Israel and it was Sarkozy who was the first and strongest critic of Iran when Ahmadinejad threatened to wipe the Jewish state off the map.

Sarkozy has been a strong and vocal proponent of a two-state solution and has said publicly that Europe has an obligation to foster the security of Israel, an obligation that was born after World War II. It was a member of the Sarkozy administration who unveiled the strategy about to be implemented by the Obama administration that will pressure Israel to come to peace terms with the Palestinians.

According to the French source, the objective of the White House is to break the Israelis and bring them back to the bargaining, i.e., negotiating table. Yes, Obama will pressure the Palestinians as well, but his stated objective is to have the sides come to an agreement and it is Israel who will make this happen. Obama and his advisors believe that an Israeli/Palestinian peace is in the national interest of the United States, they believe that it is an issue of the highest order for US national security.

After the French leak, the point was made publicly by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. In a speech before the Abraham Foundation, Clinton made it clear that she expects more of Israel than of the Palestinians. She explained that Israel has an obligation to make things work and to prop up the PLO which she called “a credible partner for peace.” That was certainly an interesting choice of terms on the part of the secretary of state and, perhaps, a window into her state of mind. Sarkozy, in the meanwhile, has not commented on this Obama plan — but sometimes, as we all know, actions speak louder than words and getting the story out is an example of Sarkozy’s diplomatic prowess.

US administration officials and pundits are saying that American soldiers are being put in harm’s way in Afghanistan and in Iraq because of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. They are even saying and writing that Iran would be easier to handle “if the Israelis would just come to peace.” This is simply absurd.

Iran, Afghanistan and those who spew rhetoric about Israel and the Palestinians will not change their minds even if a peace deal should miraculously appear tomorrow. Theirs is not a diplomatic bias, it is an ingrained, comes-from-the-heart-and-soul bias. The argument is simply rhetoric. It is not that they play the game of foreign affairs poorly, it is that for them, this is not about foreign affairs.

Micah D. Halpern is a columnist and a social and political commentator. Read his latest book THUGS. He maintains The Micah Report at www.micahhalpern.com.