T. Belman. The Administration is acting like we betrayed a friend. On the contrary, the administration has proved in a number of ways that they are not our friend. Israel owes them nothing.
No indication of Netanyahu’s visit or even the invitation by US house speaker John Boehner was mentioned in a recent meeting with the Israeli ambassador, a US source says.
Following Wednesday’s announcement that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had been invited to speak to Congress about Iran without first consulting President Barack Obama’s administration, US sources warned Thursday that the breach of protocol could have lasting effects for the Israeli premier, according to The Washington Post.
“Neither [Speaker of the House of Representatives John] Boehner nor Netanyahu gave the administration any notice of his planned visit, and some US officials were warning that the breach of traditional diplomatic protocol could have lasting consequences for the Israeli leader,” The Washington Post reported.
“The bilateral relationship [between Israel and the US] is unshakable,” the newspaper quoted a source close to Kerry as saying. “But playing politics with that relationship could blunt Secretary Kerry’s enthusiasm for being Israel’s primary defender.”
According to the report, the Israeli ambassador to the US had a meeting with Kerry for more than two hours on Tuesday, saying that Boehner’s invitation was not mentioned, nor was Netanyahu’s prospective visit. “The secretary’s patience is not infinite,” said the source close to Kerry, who requested to speak anonymously.
On Thursday, fuming Democrats accused Republican of breaking protocol by inviting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to speak to Congress without consulting them, challenging Israel’s assertion that the invitation was extended by both US political parties.
Netanyahu’s government issued a statement on Thursday saying the invitation had been extended by the “two-party leadership” of Congress, but congressional aides said they knew of no members of the party who had been consulted.
Furthermore, US President Barack Obama will not meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his upcoming visit to Washington, now rescheduled from February to March, citing “the proximity to the Israeli election.”
“As a matter of long-standing practice and principle, we do not see heads of state or candidates in close proximity to their elections so as to avoid the appearance of influencing a democratic election in a foreign country,” National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan said Thursday.
US Secretary of State John Kerry would also not hold talks with Netanyahu, the State Department said.
Herb Keinon, Michael Wilner and Reuters contributed to this report.
Since Israel is directly impacted by Obama’s Iran policy, Bibi has every right to “interfere” with that policy.
Europe springs into traditional appeasement mode
an example of how the US meddles in the internal affairs of other nations, even 1st world eeuro nations, seeing itself as the light unto the world; problem is they are a bull in a china shop hardly EVER right about anything.
obama will make a move agianst Israel and BB just before the Israeli election in order to help the leftist 3 stooges coalition of lapdog, livni and herzog. Their main platform is that BB cannot get along with Obama, as they have nothing else, they need help from Obama.
The “broken protocol” is between obama and congress and was created by his threat to veto sanctions. Israel has gone to the US before with no meetings with Obama and if congress wants to invite him they merely exercise their right just like Obama threatens his veto right.
The Israeli left probably advise obama on this argument because it helps them get votes from those Israelis afraid of losing US support. the left have always promoted “tough love” from the US: they are the puppet stooges of foreign govs and CIA blackmail.
Whatever Obama does to Israel it will be at the behest, and with the support of the Israeli leftist coalition who laughingly call themselves the “zionist camp” (only when no arabs are around).
Look whose calling the kettle black! Breach of protocal – really? Obama is the master of breach of protocol when it comes to Israel. From bringing Bibi to the Whitehouse through the servants’ entrance to leaving him and his entourage to starve while he dined with his family, to predetermining negotiations by declaring the 48 “borders” and land swamps, to cutting Bibi off at the knees while in flight to the U.S., halting rearmaments and closing Ben Gurion during the summer’s Gaza war – and that’s just off the top of my head. The list is as long as his malignant presidency. CHUTZPAH like I’ve never seen! And next we’ll Hilarious Clinton. The U.S is a lost cause to the peril of the free world!
Lets then have the US SD disarm and remove the armed militias acting from the US consulate in Jerusalem and review a whole gamut of US diplomats from the Embassy and consulate activities against Israeli Law and elected government.