Renowned neurosurgeon and "likely U.S. presidential candidate," to quote a Jerusalem newspaper, Ben Carson spoke live with
Newsmax TV on Friday from a fact-finding visit to Israel, where he said the next U.S. administration will have an opening to repair damaged relations with a crucial Mideast ally.
The author of
"One Nation: What We Can All Do To Save America's Future," Carson told "MidPoint" host Ed Berliner that among locals he is encountering more disappointment and head-scratching than outright anger at
President Barack Obama's seeming antagonism toward Israel.
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Likewise, said Carson, "I don't really know what [Obama's] motivations are or what his allegiances are, but I can say there exists a great opportunity to improve the relationship."
Carson, on his first visit to Israel, marveled at one realm where he said U.S.-Israeli cooperation is upbeat and productive: the high-tech sector.
"It is absolutely wonderful, and the relationship the United States has had with Israel in technology … has been extremely useful to both of us," said Carson. " It's one of the ways the Iron Dome was developed, for instance."
For that same spirit of unity to be restored to political and strategic dealings, he said, "what is going to be necessary … is for us to firmly state that we are behind Israel. Nobody should ever be guessing about that."
Carson also said that easing Israel's primary conflict — with the Palestinians over co-existence in the Holy Land — will require tech-like inventiveness: "We have to design ways for the Palestinians and the Israelis to work together and to be able to actually experience each other."
He advocated "creating programs that allow the children to be able to play together, do projects together" as well as "creating more ways and mechanisms for the adults to be able to be together socially because then they will get to see that the other is not as bad as they thought they were."
"It's the demonization process that creates so many problems," said Carson. "We have that same problem in America, quite frankly, between some of the people in the neighborhoods and the police. Neither of them are really demons by any stretch of imagination, but they try to demonize each other.
"If we can get a little honesty in those conversations, and a little admission of imperfection on behalf of both sides, we can make a lot of progress," he said.
Dubbed a "likely" contender by
The Jerusalem Post in an interview published Friday, Carson has yet to announce whether he will seek the
Republican presidential nomination in 2016.
But on "MidPoint" he spoke in distinctly presidential terms about world events, including the resumption of relations with Cuba and the cyberattack on Sony allegedly carried out by North Korea.
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On the data breach against Sony, and the studio pulling a movie that lampooned North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Carson said, "Clearly, we can't simply ignore this or sweep it under the rug and capitulate to all of their demands," but declined to suggest a response without having more information.
He described
Obama's sudden warming up to communist Cuba, reversing 54 years of U.S. policy, as something of a puzzle.
"There hasn't been a good explanation to what's in it for us and what's in it for the Cuban people," said Carson. "How is it making their lives better? How does it complicate relationships between the U.S. and Russia, who has very close relationship with Cuba?"
"The media should be asking those questions of this administration and then perhaps we can get some idea of why they would do this," said Carson. "Otherwise it doesn't make any sense."
Carson said that one task for whoever succeeds Obama is relearning how to use America's global stature and influence "in a positive and proactive way, rather than just reacting to the various problems around the world as they occur."
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