Obama’s fading presidential profile
Last week the White House felt it necessary to point out that the United States only has “one president at a time.” But it is increasingly unclear if that is still Barack Obama.
Case in point is the dispute over United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334, which reiterated the council’s “demand that Israel immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem.”
The measure passed 14-0, with the U.S. abstaining. Typically, the U.S. would use its veto power on a measure like this, upholding the long-standing American policy that the final settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian issue must take place between the parties involved and not be imposed from without.
However, the Obama administration chose to break with that policy. According to U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Samantha Power, Washington was sending a message that “the settlements must stop.” But she also confusingly said the historic policy break “does not in any way diminish the United States’ steadfast and unparalleled commitment to the security of Israel.” It is hard to believe that even she believes that.
This was a bad move for President Obama to make on his way out the door. The resolution did not empower U.N. member states to take any action, so the administration cannot argue that it was taking this historic step to create real change. And by simply ab- staining, instead of voting in favor of the resolution, Obama cannot even claim he was making a final, personal statement on the issue. It was “lead from behind” without the leadership, passivity pretending to be accomplishment. It looked like a petulant parting shot from a very lame duck.
The U.N. may also take a hit. On Saturday, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., pledged to lead a break with the organization, saying, “I can’t support funding a body that singles out the only democracy in the Middle East who shares our values.”
This could prove to be politically popular; a Gallup poll from February 2016 showed that 54% of Americans believe the U.N. does a poor job. You don’t have to be a Manhattan real estate tycoon to see the potential in redeveloping the U.N. headquarters site in Turtle Bay.
President-elect Donald Trump was the big winner politically. The Trump team has made no secret that it will be a much stronger supporter of Israel than President Obama ever was. And in the run-up to the vote on Resolution 2334 the president-elect persuaded Egypt, the representative of the Arab world on the Security Council, to withdraw its sponsorship of the measure, though it still voted yes. Trump came off looking dynamic and effective while his support for the Jewish state makes the charge his administration is tinged with anti-Semitism unsustainable.