Michael Oren Israeli Ambassador: Tectonic Rift Between Israel U.S.?

The attitude of the Obama administration toward Israel has created a mammoth divide between the two countries, according to five Israeli diplomats who quote Michael Oren, Israel's Ambassador to the U.S. This is more than Obama's rude treatment of Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House. It goes far deeper than a dis, and for anyone paying attention, Israel could hardly feel otherwise. Oren has denied the reports to Haaretz.

Michael Oren

An interesting note about Michael Oren, he was born in the U.S. and was an American citizen until he accepted the Ambassadorship, which required that he relinquish his American citizenry. So, the five Israeli diplomats said Oren met with them and this is their story:

“There is no crisis in Israel-US relations because in a crisis there are ups and downs,” Oren told a closed briefing to senior officials in the Israeli Foreign Ministry's North American Branch and research division, Yedioth Ahronoth's Itamar Eichner reports. 

“According to the Israeli diplomats, Oren said …’Relations are in the state of a tectonic rift in which continents are drifting apart,’” Haaretz said.

“Oren noted that contrary to Obama's predecessors - George W. Bush and Bill Clinton - the current president is not motivated by historical-ideological sentiments toward Israel but by cold interests and considerations,” Haaretz reports. 

“He added that his access as Israel's ambassador to senior administration officials and close advisers of the president is good. But Obama has very tight control over his immediate environment, and it is hard to influence him. ‘This is a one-man show,’ Oren is quoted as saying.”

The Obama administration is not merely drifting away from Israel, it jumped into the strongest current and joined Israel's enemies (put your finger anywhere on a map and you'll fined them) heading far downstream, as far away as possible. However...this Haaretz article quotes The U.S. Undersecretary of Defense Ministry, Michele Flournoy saying "defense ties between Israel and the U.S. are stronger than ever."

Mohammed al Modadi is UA Flt 663 Shoe Bomber? Mohammed Yaaqob Y al Maddi is UA 663 Shoe Bomber?

A Qatari diplomat, Mohammed al Modadi - who apparently has "full diplomatic immunity," was stopped from "igniting a shoe bomb" tonight aboard United Airlines Flight 663 from Washington, D.C. to Denver. Other reports show his name as Mohammed Yaaqob Y al Maddi. Continuing updates as details are available. See update below.

The fight landed safely at the Denver airport. According to the FBI Mohammed al Modadi has full diplomat immunity as the third secretary and vice-consul in the Embassy of Qatar.

Two jet fighters were scrambled from Buckley Air Force Base to bring the Boeing 757 into the Denver airport and park it in a remote location on the airport grounds. This report said he had to be subdued.

Greta van Susteren at 10:40 p.m. EDT is reporting that no explosives were involved and the man may have been trying to light his shoe to disfuse some other odor.

Denver's 9News.com says the man was in plane's restroom - spent a lot of time in the restroom, "and when he came out,

...an air marshal on the plane smelled smoke and asked the person what he had been doing."

The person responded that he had been trying to set his shoes on fire.

NBC says it appears the person may not have had any incendiary devices on him.

He is described as 25 to 26 years old and federal sources say 

At 11:00 p.m. EDT FOX News is reporting that al Modadi or al Maddi is now in custody.

11:20 p.m. EDT: ABC is now reporting that no explosives were found in al Modadi's shoes:

Authorities say the diplomat was wrestled to the ground...a US security official said, "it may have been a massive misunderstanding" and the diplomat's statement may have been a "scarcastic" comment when he was confronted by tow air marshals who have been told by flight attendants that smoke was coming from the lavatory."

Law enforcement authorities in Denver say the air marshals and the diplomat were in a "physical confrontation."

Do we have to remind security officials that "sarcastic" like al Madadi's are now allowed in airports on on airplanes these days. I think the air marshall understood that they had an Arab man that was up to something...even if not lighting his shoes. What were the flight attendants smelling? How about the terror the passengers probably felt? How about the expense of 2 jet escorts? Qatar needs to pay-up.

If this was not an attempt to bring down a U.S. airliner, then it is a warning that diplomats simply cannot be immune to charges in cases of terrorism.

Update 4-8-10:

We have the bottomline, and it isn't pretty: Modadi was smoking in the lavatory, or as HuffPo put it, he was only "sneaking a smoke." Yet, he obviously had a lighter or matches - which I guess is legal these days. He made an inciteful comment that you and I could not make and get away with it, and he physically struggled with air marshals.

A reader and blogger, Mustang at Social Sense, commented that immunity "works well for American diplomats. Ask any number of such individuals whose heads were cut off by peace-loving Muslims."

Read more at Memorandum

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Daily Caller Jim Treacher Hit by US Diplomatic SUV? Sean Medlock Hit by US Diplomatic Vehicle

Sean Medlock who writes under the name Jim Treacher for the new Daily Caller was hit by a black SUV driven by a U.S. Diplomatic Security employee. Medlock says he was walking across a street, legally, with the proper crossing light.

The story is, the SUV made "an illegal left turn," and hit him. As as result, his knee is broken. Very painful to have a broken knee!

After much speculation that the vehicle belonged to Secret Service, then the State Deparment, then the U.S. Diplomatic Security service (which is probably the State Department) - well, good luck with that. Those people are immune from everything:

An agent in the vehicle, Mike McGuinn, did not identify himself to Medlock at the scene, or apologize for running him down. Indeed, Washington, D.C., police drove to a local emergency room to serve Medlock with a jaywalking citation as he lay prostrate in a hospital bed, while a man who identified himself as “special agent” stood by watching and taking notes.

Reached on his cell phone the following day by the Daily Caller, McGuinn refused to answer questions about the incident.

“I’m a federal agent and I’m not allowed to talk to the media,” McGuinn said, citing “liability.” McGuinn initially declined even to reveal which agency he works for. “You can refer to the [DC] police department report,” he said before hanging up abruptly. (According the police department, no report will be publicly available for at least three days.)

Curiously, the ticket says that Medlock was struck at an intersection four blocks from where the accident actually took place. And it claims that Medlock was walking diagonally across the intersection at the time. In one of his strikingly short conversations with the Daily Caller, agent Mike McGuinn acknowledged that Medlock was not jaywalking at all, but walking “outside the crosswalk when the incident occurred.”

The Daily Caller has a lot of questions. Among them: was McGuinn on or off duty? Was he escorting someone at the time of the accident? Did he urge the police to issue the jaywalking ticket, knowing that Medlock/Treacher was not jaywalking? There is more. Read it all here. Treacher faces surgery on his knee next week. Via Memorandum.