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Matthew RJ Brodsky's Blog

Obama and Sarkozy's Insulting Gaffe

It was the insult heard around the world: Reports surfaced Monday that French President Nicolas Sarkozy was overheard by reporters at last week's G20 Summit in Cannes telling President Obama he can no longer bear Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "I can't stand to see him any more, he's a liar," journalists overheard Sarkozy saying through a hot mic as the world leaders met privately in a side room. In response, Obama lamented: "You are fed up with him, but me, I have to deal with him every day."

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By Matthew RJ Brodsky and Samara Greenberg  |  Wed, November 9, 2011 6:02 PM  |  Permalink

Losing Focus

President Obama's decision to devote a third of his speech about the Middle East to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict last Thursday resulted in the verbal sparring match between him and Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu. And it remains the unfortunate focus this week. Yet the chances of peace negotiations beginning any time in the near future are bleak. It is therefore bizarre that the president would sink so much diplomatic capital into the virtual black hole of the moribund peace process. Instead, now would be the right time to refocus and prioritize American interests in the Middle East.

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By Matthew RJ Brodsky  |  Thu, May 26, 2011 3:42 PM  |  Permalink

The Syrian Spring is a Gift, Will Obama Open It?

Barack Obama has been given the gift of the Syrian uprising but he apparently does not want to open it. One would think his foreign policy in the Middle East would have been adaptable to the recent "Arab Spring" in the region—that once the uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya happened, it would be possible to envision the same happening in Syria and have a policy waiting to implement. But to say this administration's response to the Syrian uprising has been sluggish would be an understatement.

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By Matthew RJ Brodsky  |  Thu, May 12, 2011 2:52 PM  |  Permalink