The Sunday New York Times piece describing Rahm Emanuel as the most powerful White House chief of staff in recent memory ("more chief than staff") was getting buzz within hours of its posting Saturday evening.
Here’s what is says about Rahm and Israel:
In national security, officials said Mr. Emanuel had been a player on issues central to the Obama presidency — Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, the Middle East and, to some extent, Iraq and Russia. He has been a force behind the administration’s opposition to Israeli settlement expansion, drawing fire from some Israel supporters.
After a last-minute decision to have the president go to Saudi Arabia yielded no tangible results, Mr. Emanuel pushed to ensure that future foreign trips had “deliverables,” or achievements secured in advance.
So, he sounds pissed at just about everyone: Israel, the Arabs, everyone. It’s a version of even-handed, I suppose.
Speaking of pissed-off Jews, Emanuel is nicknamed "the Antichrist" in a Secret Service training exercise simulating an attack from white supremacists. (An antichrist named Emanuel? Hmm.) Read all about it in the unmatchable Laura Blumenfeld’s heartbreaking account in the Washington Post of what it takes to become an agent.
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