• The rise of the presidential candidacy of Barak Obama has raised some serious concerns about his foreign policy positions - especially concerning Israel and the Middle East. Our first report  on this perculating issue brought a considerable amount of reaction from our One Jerusalem community.
• Since our relatively-recent post, there has been a considerable amount of research into who are the members of Obama's foreign policy brain trust.  Our first blog post centered on Robert Malley,  now there  is a growing body of  information  about other members of  O'Bama's  foreign policy brain trust.  But before sharing this information  let say a few words about Obama's  actions and words related to the Middle East and Israel.
• I recommend visiting Obama's website to see his expressions of support for Israel, his stated opposition to Hamas, Hezbolah, and terrorism, and his commitment to Bush's two state initiative. Obama recently reiterated these positions in a conference call with members of the Jewish/Israeli press. The general consensus among the people who participated on the call was that he said all the right things: Among them being a commitment to the survival of the Jewish State. Frankly, his stated positions on Israel do not, at their core, differ from Clinton, Romney, or McCain.
• This brings us to Obama's foreign policy advisers and related concerns. There is no doubt that Obama and Clinton (for that matter all the Republican candidates are in the same boat) are short on foreign policy experience, therefore it seems appropriate to delve into who they are relying on to develop their positions on security and foreign policy matters. Given Obama's metrotic rise and the general lack of information about him let us continue our exploration of what recent information has come to light about how Obama might relate to Israel.
• Should he be elected President, Obama will face a problem that all first-term President's come up against: Appointing a foreign policy team. He has already done this for his campaign and many friends of Israel and supporters of a strong American foreign policy are deeply concerned by who comprises this team.
• Ed Lasky and Richard Baehr at American Thinker have done their usually careful research before writing about their deep concerns about who Obama has chosen as his team. The most senior expert is Jimmy Carter's National Security Adviser and staunch Bush critic Zibignew Brzezinski.
• Brzezinski is the godfather of the blame Israel first school of analysis. He has blamed American policies that treats Israel as a true ally as being the central reason for our problems in the Middle East.  One must wonder why any candidate would associate with Brzezinski. Afterall, his failed tenure in the Carter Administration should be reason enough to look for another adviser.
• But Brezinski is not the only problem. Noah Pollak at Commentary has uncovered disturbing information about another Obama adviser -- Samantha Power by way of Harvard. Pollak cites this quote from Power:

"America’s important historic relationship with Israel has often led foreign policy decision-makers to defer reflexively to Israeli security assessments, and to replicate Israeli tactics, which, as the war in Lebanon last summer demonstrated, can turn out to be counter-productive."

• In other words, making Israel's security a concern of United States foreign policy is wrong according to Power. She is also a vocal critic of a foreign policy that puts the concerns of America first and those of international institutions lower down the ladder.
• Malley, Brzezinski, and Powers are all critics of a pro-Israel policy for the United States. Why has Obama invited them into his inner circle? Is it a sign that he would consider shifting policy away from Israel -- that he may support treating Israel in the same manner as Israel's enemies?
• Another reason for concern is Obama's relationship with the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Jr.. Wright is an out spoken friend and admirer of the Nation of Islam's Louis Farrakhan.  Read more about the troubling Rev.Wright here.
• Obama's foreign policy team also includes Dr. Susan Rice, who served as chief foreign policy adviser to John Kerry when he ran for President. Dr. Rice also served in the Clinton Administration and co-authored an article disagreeing with President Bush's decision to issue a policy justification on the use of pre-emptive military strikes against a threatening enemy. For a more in-depth look at Rice's views on the need to make substantial changes from the way the United States currently operates in the world, including talking to adversaries (Iran?) check out this interview.
• Let me close this post by stating that not all of the members of Obama's team are problematic. Malley, Brzezinski, and Power do raise some serious concerns. Their views and their senior positions in the campaign are troubling. And the controversial Rev. Wright does not seem the kind of spiritual leader a moderate man would adopt as his spiritual adviser..
• After studying this issue please let us know what you think. Keep those comments coming.