The Magician

February 26, 2015

A good magician will distract his audience and get it to focus on something tangential while he performs his main trick. Obama is yet again proving to be a masterful magician. We are familiar with sleight of hand magic tricks, but he is terrific at sleight of mouth. He is skillfully getting his audience, basically the free world, to focus its attention on IS and its brotherly terrorist groups. While the audience is distracted with IS and these other terrorist groups, he performs his real trick, which is reaching a pernicious nuclear deal with the far more dangerous Islamic Republic of Iran. No matter how good the magician though, there are always some who are on to his tricks. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is not overly distracted by the IS threat and recognizes the real danger, which is Iran. I expect him to say as much when he addresses the U.S. Congress next week.

Is one really to believe that IS is a threat to the free world? The estimated number of IS fighters generally is reported to range from 10,000-100,000. True, they are creating a lot of carnage, terror and destruction, but that is because they are not being opposed by any real military forces. Whatever became of the 62 country coalition? 62 countries, led by the U.S., are unable to defeat IS? Following the savage murder of one of its captured pilots by IS, it was reported that Jordan, in seeking revenge, killed 7,000 IS fighters in a stepped up air campaign in a matter of days. Jordan is hardly the U.S. militarily, but unlike the U.S., they had their heart in the mission. One wonders why they stopped. Or why the U.S. can't achieve similar results.

Imagine for a moment if IS had nuclear capabilities or the ability to commit acts of terrorism with any type of nuclear weapon. Based on their barbarism to date, no one should question that they would use such weapons to their benefit and to the detriment of civilization if they could. Fortunately, they do not have access, at least for now, to these types of weapons. In short, as cruel, despicable and vicious as they are, IS could be dealt with swiftly and decisively if the U.S. Government had that as its objective.

More important than the difference of Sunni and Shiite between IS and Iran is what they have in common--they are both controlled by fundamental or radical Islamic terrorists committed to killing Jews, Christians and members of other religions in the name of Islam. Iran poses a threat not only to Israel, the U.S. and Europe, but also to Arab countries in the Middle East. Like Israel, those Arab countries fear Iran obtaining nuclear capabilities. Why? Because they know that Iran, like IS, will use nuclear weapons to try to achieve its warped fundamental Islamic terrorist goals. In fact, Iran, speaking out of one side of its mouth, claims as much. This is the side of the mouth of the snake that should be listened to and not the side claiming to want nuclear capabilities for peaceful purposes only. Israel and the Arab countries know this, and I expect Prime Minister Netanyahu to stress this point to Congress next week.

All of this seems too obvious. That is why Obama is conducting a masterful sleight of mouth campaign. All of the attention has been on IS and other fundamental Islamic terrorist groups. His outrageous statement that the targeted terror attack against Jews in a kosher deli in Paris was a random act of violence and refusal to say that Christians are being targeted by Muslim extremists have helped keep the attention on IS and these other terrorist groups. His refusal to even acknowledge that the terrorists are Muslim has sparked controversy, but also has kept the focus in place. When three Muslims were killed recently in North Carolina, likely over a parking dispute, he and his administration were all too quick to point out that it was likely a hate crime committed in the U.S. against Muslims. He is trying to allow Syrian refugees to come to the U.S. though admittedly no one knows who they are or whether murderers are among them. All of this helps draw the attention to IS and other terrorist groups, as well as his administration on this issue, while he has had a free hand to deal with Iran.

Why is he doing this? Because it fits squarely within his pro-Muslim ideology. It is very convenient for him that his weak and inept policies benefit both these radical Islamic terrorist groups and Iran (and hurt Israel), thus comporting with his pro-Muslim beliefs. Impressively, he is taking actions that benefit both Sunni and Shiite, no easy feat as they have some conflicting interests and would just as soon kill each other. Yes, he is a wonderful magician. He has consistently demonstrated who he truly is throughout his life and it is obvious to anyone who is willing to see it, to anyone not distracted as the magician performs his newest and greatest trick. Without exaggeration, I could list countless examples. The naysayers who prefer to be distracted and awed by the trick would just come up with their typical excuses. Let it suffice to say that one only need to look at the realignment of allies in the world in the last few years. Who would have predicted that Israel would have better allies in Egypt and some other Arab countries than in the U.S. (at the government level)? Or that a president of the U.S. would repeatedly humiliate and distance himself from the government of Israel while getting in bed with Iran and refusing to acknowledge that the U.S. is at war with radical Islam. The same president who advocated the overthrow of a stable government in Egypt by the terrorist Muslim Brotherhood, but now snubs the secular government that overthrew the Muslim Brotherhood.

Much of the distrust and skepticism of Obama and his motives with Iran have been in play since he reduced the sanctions against Iran even before negotiations began, not a very good strategic move if one is negotiating in good faith, to say the least. Now as details emerge on the purported deal with Iran, one that seems to allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons over time, those who questioned why Israel and other countries were distrustful of Obama should see the light. But already it is leading to a narrower, more well-defined schism on the issue as there remain those who prefer to insist that the magician is really performing magic. It has very quickly become evident that the tact of the magician's supporters is to now portray Prime Minister Netanyahu as the guilty one, and to accuse him of trying to sabotage the deal for unrealistic reasons. In other words, now the argument from this side is something to the effect that of course Iran is pursuing nuclear capabilities, but they absolutely have no interest in pursuing nuclear weapons. We should believe Iran when they say that is the case (out of that side of the snake's mouth) and it is Israel and Prime Minister Netanyahu who are the problem and who we should not believe or, as the reaction to him speaking next week to Congress demonstrates, even listen to on this issue.  So let's take the inconsistent word of our sworn enemy, the largest sponsor of terror in the world, and totally rebuff our best friend in the Middle East. I find this incredibly disturbing. But not too surprising. It is consistent with action one would expect from a president who declared he would fundamentally transform America and it is only one of countless schisms that he has created in totally dividing the country.

I fully expect Prime Minister Netanyahu to expose the sleight of mouth magician, Obama, to Congress next week. Magicians get angry when someone knows and tells how their tricks are performed. That is why Obama and his administration have had a hissy fit over Prime Minister Netanyahu's Congressional invitation. We already knew that Obama and his minions don't want Mr. Netanyahu to expose their sham, but we now have a better understanding of why they are so sensitive to the timing. His administration has acted disgracefully against Mr. Netanyahu, particularly in the last few days as the deal with Iran appears closer to coming to fruition. Congress, within its right as there are still three branches of government in the U.S., also wants the magician to be exposed and they too expect that from Mr. Netanyahu. At least that is true of the Republicans. Shame on those Congressional Democrats who believe that Obama is king of the U.S. (as he does) and who are snubbing Israel and Mr. Netanyahu. Liberal American Jews who are so strongly Democrat and side with Obama over Israel and Mr. Netanyahu should reflect carefully on their position at this critical juncture. You can be a patriotic American and still oppose the policies of the president and his administration.

I believe that this issue is so critical that every American Jew, at least those who acknowledge themselves as Jews, should go on the record as to which side they support. It will be too easy if, G-d forbid, Iran does get nuclear weapons capabilities (and I will leave it at that) to claim after the fact how they foresaw the danger and were in support of Israel and Mr. Netanyahu. Record in writing now where you stand. In fact, l believe every Jew should do this because a nuclear Iran poses an existential threat to Jews (and others) worldwide. The Jewish community at large needs to engage in more effective dialogue on this ominous threat. They need to understand the radical religious beliefs that are motivating and driving these terrorist entities (no, it is not lack of jobs as the magician would have you believe). For all the criticism he receives, Mr. Netanyahu has been the champion of the Jewish cause on this issue, despite what some treacherous Jewish detractors have to say. He could use a lot more unity and support from the Jewish community. Here's to Mr. Netanyahu exposing the sleight of mouth tricks of the master magician next week.