Thursday, July 24, 2014

Ted Cruz claims White House may have used FAA against Israel

What is ridiculous is the Obama administration refusing to answer simple questions about whether this was dictated by politics and why the FAA is singling out Israel while not focusing on other areas around the world,” the Texas Republican said Wednesday night on Fox News’ “Hannity.”
“Was this politics from the White House? Or was this an airline safety decision? And I think the facts strongly suggest it was politics and an effort to strong arm the nation of Israel.”
The State Department vehemently objected to Cruz’s comments.

“It’s ridiculous and offensive, quite frankly,” State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said during a press briefing. “The FAA takes its responsibilities very seriously. … They make these decisions based solely on the safety and security of American citizens, period. For anyone to suggest otherwise is just ridiculous.”

Late Wednesday night, the FAA ended the ban on flights to Israel.
Do we see any improprieties here, did any White House interference on behalf of the presidents foreign policy, if indeed there was interference, rise to the level of illegality? Should there be a congressional oversight hearing?

I was going to ask, should there be an investigation, but with Holder at the helm, there are more chances of 20 IRS hard drives failing, around the same time, than Holder appointing an independent investigator.

Via Instapundit

13 comments:

Calypso Facto said...

Why would the FAA be any different than this administration's political weaponization of the IRS, EPA, ATF, Border Patrol, etc., etc.?

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

When I read the Drudge link to the story I immediately made the association to the IRS.

Although, I didn't say so specifically, at the time, because of previous connections I had made against Obama's political machine, that didn't quite pan out. Or at least, not yet.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

The effectives of this White House, in covering up, eventually makes one gun-shy.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

When 20 hard drives aren't enough you start hoping for a doubting Thomas moment.

John 20:27 (NIV)

27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”

Unknown said...

Everything Obama does is political and done to hurt his enemies.

ricpic said...

The main thing for Hussein is to give Hamas another 15 million so they can fire more rockets at those bullying Jews.

Amartel said...

When the main tenet of your religion is that the personal is political you can't go around being all stunned and amazed when people constantly read political motive into your every action.
I was initially going to give them an out due to MH17 reverb, and that US airlines had previously been wisely advised to avoid that area, but then learned that other hotspots are not banned.

ndspinelli said...

I saw the teeny tiny former mayor of NYC flew to Israel and was greeted by Bibi. Bloomberg and Bibi obviously think it's political.

Unknown said...

Howard Stern defends Israel.


& This a million times, This.

Lydia said...

Good for Howard Stern. Unfortunately, he doesn't have the influence Jon Stewart does, who, as the Daily Beast breathlessly informs us, has now "Made It Okay to Care About Palestinian Suffering" with jokes about the “asymmetrical nature” of the conflict.

sakredkow said...

Why doesn't the witness just answer the question? How long has he been beating his wife? It's a simple question.

Lydia said...

Very good piece in New Jersey Jewish News -- Sorry, Jon Stewart, there are opinions, and there are facts:

My issue with Stewart is that, time and time again he, along with so many other reporters and commentators, has failed to draw a distinction between Israel, a democratic nation governed by the rule of law, and Hamas, a terrorist organization committed to killing as many innocent civilians as possible. That is a huge distinction, not a matter of opinion.

There is a the tragedy unfolding in Gaza and any civilized human being would feel terrible anguish for the suffering and death of Gazan civilians. When discussing this conflict, however, that anguish must be accompanied by the question, “Who is to blame for those deaths?"

The answer is not a matter of "opinion." Hamas. Is. Responsible.

A dear friend and colleague published an op-ed piece yesterday that carries the title "I'm Done Apologizing for Israel." In it he draws the important distinction between Israel and the care they have tried to take in avoiding civilian deaths, and Hamas and the callousness with which it has sought to pull Israel deeper and deeper into this conflict while inflicting as many Israeli and Gazan casualties as possible. My friend drives home the point that Israel did not want the current military campaign. They asked, perhaps even begged, for Hamas not to escalate matters. Hamas did escalate-- after all that's what terrorist organizations do. It was in the process of trying to address this escalation that Israel discovered the network of terror tunnels that show no regard to borders or rule of law and have now become the Jewish State's main strategic focus.

One of the commenters responding to his essay argued something that I too had been asserting for the past 10 days: that while Israel was putting resources into bomb shelters and Iron Dome, Hamas was using financial, personnel, and material resources to build terror tunnels.

Methadras said...

The FAA is simply now another tentacle in the leftist white house arsenal. Punish Israel by not allowing incoming flight from the US to Israel or outgoing flights from Israel into the US? Really? Even outgoing flights to the US are banned? Pitchforks and torches do have a purpose and Urkel is clearly walking around spreading his special brand of political gasoline.