Israel Matzav: Finding new allies

Finding new allies

There was an item in the Wall Street Journal earlier this week that reported that Britain was working on its 'special relationship.' With India.... That's right, having given up on being treated like an ally by the Obama administration, the Brits are pursuing a special relationship with India.

And as you all know already, the Brits and the Indians aren't the only allies who are licking their wounds from being abused by the United States. No, I'm not talking about Israel now - let's look at Japan. This is from a story about the renewal of the lease on America's military base on Okinawa:

But as Hatoyama's self-imposed May deadline approaches, it doesn't look like the prime minister is going to be able to deliver, and some Japanese lawmakers are now going public with their criticism of the way the Obama administration has handled the issue.

One of them is Kuniko Tanioka, a member of Japan's upper house of parliament and the ruling Democratic Party of Japan, and a close advisor to Hatoyama. During a visit to Washington Tuesday, Tanioka leveled some of the harshest criticism from a Japanese official to date of the Obama team's handling of the Futenma issue, which is still unresolved despite months of discussions.

"We are worried because the government of the United States doesn't seem to be treating Prime Minister Hatoyama as an ally," she told an audience at the East-West Center. "The very stubborn attitude of no compromise of the U.S. government on Futenma is clearly pushing Japan away toward China and that is something I'm very worried about."

In the Age of Obama, when Western countries can no longer count on the United States, each of us has to look for new allies on whom we can rely. Israel already has close relations with India. For historical reasons - and because of its burgeoning Muslim population - Britain may never be a close Israeli ally. But it's good to see our foreign ministry reaching out and trying to make new friends: Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman heads for Japan on Sunday.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Avigdor Liberman will leave on Sunday 9 May 2010 on an official visit to Japan.

FM Liberman is scheduled to meet with Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada and other senior officials. FM Liberman and his hosts will discuss bilateral and regional issues of mutual interest.

Foreign Minister Liberman is expected to return to Israel on Thursday, 13 May 2010.

Go for it!

Israel Matzav: Finding new allies