Elliot Abrams: Hillary Is a Liar

In 'diplomat speak,' Elliot Abrams simply says that "Hillary is wrong" when she asserts that there was no agreement between the United State and Israel on settlement expansion. Of course, in real-world speak, he is calling her a liar, and he more than anyone is in a position to know. Mr. Abrams handled all Middle East affairs at the National Security Council from 2001 to 2009.

"In recent weeks, American officials have denied that any agreement on settlements existed. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stated on June 17 that "in looking at the history of the Bush administration, there were no informal or oral enforceable agreements. That has been verified by the official record of the administration and by the personnel in the positions of responsibility."

These statements are incorrect. Not only were there agreements, but the prime minister of Israel relied on them in undertaking a wrenching political reorientation -- the dissolution of his government, the removal of every single Israeli citizen, settlement and military position in Gaza, and the removal of four small settlements in the West Bank. This was the first time Israel had ever removed settlements outside the context of a peace treaty, and it was a major step.

It is true that there was no U.S.-Israel "memorandum of understanding," which is presumably what Mrs. Clinton means when she suggests that the "official record of the administration" contains none. But she would do well to consult documents like the Weissglas letter, or the notes of the Aqaba meeting, before suggesting that there was no meeting of the minds.

Mrs. Clinton also said there were no "enforceable" agreements. This is a strange phrase. How exactly would Israel enforce any agreement against an American decision to renege on it? Take it to the International Court in The Hague?

Regardless of what Mrs. Clinton has said, there was a bargained-for exchange. Mr. Sharon was determined to break the deadlock, withdraw from Gaza, remove settlements -- and confront his former allies on Israel's right by abandoning the "Greater Israel" position to endorse Palestinian statehood and limits on settlement growth. He asked for our support and got it, including the agreement that we would not demand a total settlement freeze.

For reasons that remain unclear, the Obama administration has decided to abandon the understandings about settlements reached by the previous administration with the Israeli government. We may be abandoning the deal now, but we cannot rewrite history and make believe it did not exist."

Abram's article in today's Wall Street Journal clarifies why the Obama administration is not to be trusted, and should be treated by every US ally as hostile and untrustworthy until proven otherwise. Until now, the only countries that have something to celebrate from the Obama administration are enemy states and terrorist entities (Think Chavez, Ortega, Castro, Ahamadinejad... etc...)