JG Caesarea Middle East IQ Test, Questions Nos. 2 and 3: Are You Smarter Than Obama?

Did you already answer Question No. 1 of the patented JG Caesarea Middle East IQ Test (http://jgcaesarea.blogspot.com/2010/03/take-middle-east-iq-test-are-you.html)? Did you answer incorrectly? Never mind! You've now had the opportunity to study and can redeem yourself by answering correctly Questions Nos. 2 and 3. Ready? Okay, here's Question No. 2, which is a multiple choice question, designed to bolster your confidence before responding to Question No. 3:

Obama announced that the U.S. will again send an ambassador to Damascus for the first time since Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri was assassinated upon direct orders from Syrian President Bashar Assad in February 2005 by means of a massive explosion which ripped Hariri's car apart in front of the St. George Hotel in Beirut. Syrian President Assad responded to Obama's gesture by transferring Scud-B missiles to Hezbollah, which bombed the U.S. embassy in Beirut in 1983, killing more than 60 embassy personnel and U.S. Marines. Spotting this shipment, Israel asked permission to destroy the Scuds on the ground while still en route to Hezbollah. How did the Obama administration respond to the Israeli request?

1. Deny Israel permission to take out the Scuds, whose range encompasses most of Israel and whose payload consists of 986 kilograms of explosives, inasmuch as any such attack would have dampened the mood at Obama's nuclear summit and interfered with a memorable photo op for the U.S. president.
2. Deny Israel permission, but promise to delay the appointment of an ambassador to Syria, an action which the Obama administration sincerely believed would deter Assad.
3. Reassess its policy of reaching out to and appeasing Middle East tyrannies.
4. Answers 1 and 2 above.

You circled answer no. 4? Wrong, got you again! A Scud-B has a payload of 985 - not 986 - kilograms of explosives, and the correct answer is no. 2. Never mind, you're probably now hungering for Question No. 3, and here it is, but this time you will need to write an essay (yes, I know, multiple choice questions are easier, but I never promised you a rose garden, White House or otherwise):

What do Obama's health care package and Obama's Middle East policy have in common?

You have 10 seconds to respond. Not enough time? Sorry, no one in the Middle East plays fair. . . . Finished writing? Pencils down!

If you answered that both are destined to lead the U.S. to bankruptcy, nice try, but incorrect. Yes, sure, the cost of ObamaCare and Obama's war in Afghanistan are apt to create an unsustainable budget deficit that will destroy the value of the U.S. dollar and lead to a fiscal meltdown, but this still falls within the realm of speculation. Sorry, the JG Caesarea Middle East IQ Test demands hard facts. Nice try, but not good enough.

The correct answer:

Both with respect to Obama's health care package and Obama's Middle East policy, Obama is attempting to impose policies upon unreceptive populations. As known to all, Obamacare was rammed through the U.S. Congress notwithstanding the opposition of a majority of Americans, because Obama knows better. Now Obama is also attempting to impose a settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict upon Israel.

How do Israelis perceive any such imposed settlement?

"A huge majority of Israelis would oppose an attempt by US President Barack Obama to impose a final-status agreement with the Palestinians, a poll sponsored by the Independent Media Review and Analysis (IMRA) organization found this week.

. . . .

Asked whether they would support Obama imposing a plan dividing Jerusalem and removing the Jordan Valley from Israeli control, 91 percent of Israelis who expressed an opinion said no and 9% said yes, according to the poll of 503 Israelis, which was taken by Ma’agar Mohot on Sunday and Monday and had a 4.5% margin of error.

Eighty-one percent said it was improper for Obama to try to force such a plan on the two sides, while 19% of those who expressed an opinion said it was proper.

The poll asked whether it would create enduring peace or enduring conflict should Jerusalem be divided, with Jewish neighborhoods remaining part of Israel and Arab neighborhoods becoming part of a Palestinian state. Eighty-four percent said conflict and 16% said peace."

http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=173093

So we see that Obama also thinks he is smarter than 90% of Israelis and is justified, given his extensive foreign policy experience, in dictating peace terms to Israel. Afterall, he now holds Israel to blame for his Afghanistan misadventure:

"Mr. Obama said conflicts like the one in the Middle East ended up 'costing us significantly in terms of both blood and treasure' — drawing an explicit link between the Israeli-Palestinian strife and the safety of American soldiers as they battle Islamic extremism and terrorism in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere."

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/15/world/middleeast/15mideast.html?src=mv

Truly sorry you answered Questions Nos. 2 and 3 incorrectly, but not to worry: Visit again soon, and you will have another opportunity to face off with Question 4 of the JG Caesarea Middle East IQ Test and conclusively demonstrate that you are smarter than Obama, notwithstanding the fact that Obama thinks he's smarter than us all.