President Barack Obama must declare the nation's unwavering support of Israel in clear and concise terms, according to Ari Fleischer, the former White House spokesman for President George W. Bush.
"The only right thing to do is to say that America is morally on the side of those who are preserving peace, trying to fight for peace,'' Fleischer said Friday on "The Steve Malzberg Show" on
Newsmax TV. "And that Israeli civilians are under threat and the United States stands with Israel.''
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Fleischer, now president of Ari Fleischer Sports Communications, believes the media has a distorted take of the escalating Israel-Hamas war.
"The thing about the media is they like to put themselves 'in the middle' of whatever it is they cover and tell people what 'both sides' say. That leads to an equalization — those who act morally and those who act immorally.
"The great thing, though, is that most Americans see through that. Most Americans remain strong, pro-Israel supporters, and they do so because they know that Israel is much like the United States.''
Fleischer said Obama has alienated himself in Middle East by playing "the man in the middle.''
"He worked so hard to put himself on the spot that most American presidents have not put themselves into, which is square in the middle, that he's alienated both sides,'' Fleischer said.
"The other real issue here, which President Obama is missing, is there's a changing Middle East underway in which Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, are on the side basically of Israel, what Israel is doing with Hamas.
"They do not support Hamas. They support the Palestinian people. But that is a far cry from the terrorist thugs who have taken over in Gaza for Hamas. Instead, the president's allied himself with Hamas' demands for the cease-fire as explained by Qatar.''
Fleischer said with the Middle East realigning, Obama is "missing the boat.''
"That's what's hard to understand as well with [Secretary of State John] Kerry and the cease-fire terms that he announced. I mean can you imagine? Egypt was sponsor of a more Israel-friendly cease-fire than John Kerry and the United States,'' Fleischer said.
They recognize one of the greatest threats to their own security is radical Islam, and the practitioners of radical Israel are Hamas, Hezbollah, Iranian proxies. This is the new Middle East, and I don't understand why strategically President Obama is missing this chance for a wonderful and fundamental realignment which unites Arabs and Israelis.''
Fleischer said the United States must find a way to solve its U.S.-Mexico border crisis by using laws already on the books.
"America's always been a welcoming nation, and the fact that children are trying to come here to have a better way of life, there should be no other nation they want to come to other than America,'' he said.
But "we still have to find a way for it to be done within the law because what makes us a great nation is respect the law … It's so important that we have an immigration system that functions, that works.''
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