Has Bibi Netanyahu’s Criticism of Obama’s Iran Policy Gone Too Far?

[kentay]

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/09/14/has-bibi-netanyahu-s-criticism-of-obama-s-iran-policy-gone-too-far.html

[Woody]

When you are surrounded by millions who want to eradicate your country, and kill off all the Jews with nuclear weapons strong criticism is forgivable.

[RWE]

Netanyahu needs to realize that Obama doesn't have time for foreign policy distractions while he's out campaigning. 

[kentay]

When you are surrounded by millions who want to eradicate your country, and kill off all the Jews with nuclear weapons strong criticism is forgivable.

A game of chess for the Jewish vote

In this chess game over the American Jewish vote, Netanyahu is not necessarily the king. This week in Pennsylvania, I met with some Republican Jewish Coalition activists engaged in a door-to-door campaign, trying to persuade Jewish voters disappointed with Obama that they have every reason to vote for Mitt Romney (or, more precisely, against Obama ). There were T-shirts and banners ("Oi vey, Obama. Had enough?" ), "Mitt-zvah" buttons, leaflets dropped at thousands of Jewish household doors, systematic phone banking, and less than a few people who could propose any reasonable alternative to the policies being pursued by the current administration.

After the usual 'Obama is not a friend of Israel' tirade, mentioning that the President is "not in love" with Israel, and his strained relationship with the Israeli leader; dismissing his administration's support for the "Iron Dome" anti-missile batteries ("It's the Congress, not Obama" ), and his administration's vetoing or voting against anti-Israeli resolutions at the UN ("If it was up to Obama, he would surely vote for it" ) - I asked one of the activists for his solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He was hesitant. "I know what is NOT an answer - pressure on Israel!" he finally said. Fine, I said, no pressure, but what is a viable option, other than the two-state solution based on 1967 borders with mutually agreed swaps? One state? Palestinian bantustans? The answer was sort of "the Israeli leader knows better." Now, does he?

http://www.haaretz.com/blogs/focus-u-s-a/red-lines-and-deadlines.premium-1.464612

[Woody]

When you are surrounded by millions who want to eradicate your country, and kill off all the Jews with nuclear weapons strong criticism is forgivable.

A game of chess for the Jewish vote

In this chess game over the American Jewish vote, Netanyahu is not necessarily the king. This week in Pennsylvania, I met with some Republican Jewish Coalition activists engaged in a door-to-door campaign, trying to persuade Jewish voters disappointed with Obama that they have every reason to vote for Mitt Romney (or, more precisely, against Obama ). There were T-shirts and banners ("Oi vey, Obama. Had enough?" ), "Mitt-zvah" buttons, leaflets dropped at thousands of Jewish household doors, systematic phone banking, and less than a few people who could propose any reasonable alternative to the policies being pursued by the current administration.

After the usual 'Obama is not a friend of Israel' tirade, mentioning that the President is "not in love" with Israel, and his strained relationship with the Israeli leader; dismissing his administration's support for the "Iron Dome" anti-missile batteries ("It's the Congress, not Obama" ), and his administration's vetoing or voting against anti-Israeli resolutions at the UN ("If it was up to Obama, he would surely vote for it" ) - I asked one of the activists for his solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He was hesitant. "I know what is NOT an answer - pressure on Israel!" he finally said. Fine, I said, no pressure, but what is a viable option, other than the two-state solution based on 1967 borders with mutually agreed swaps? One state? Palestinian bantustans? The answer was sort of "the Israeli leader knows better." Now, does he?

http://www.haaretz.com/blogs/focus-u-s-a/red-lines-and-deadlines.premium-1.464612

Sorry dude, but this is a little more serious than a ploy for the Jewish vote.

[clistensprechen]

Israel has been a very high-maintenance kept woman for too long and America's gone broke. Small governments can't keep Kept Women anymore.

The party that whines about putting America at the command of the U.N. wants to put America at the command of Bibi's whims that Israelis of good sense don't support. Religious Armageddonist Christians are all in favor of Armageddon, of course, but that's the best reason to leave them out of the loop--they have a conflict of interest regarding world peace.

May cooler heads than Bibi's prevail.

He's going to make his best pitch on talking head programs this Sunday; let's see what kind of tantrum he's going to throw for not getting his way in ordering America about like his personal slave.

[Woody]

Israel has been a very high-maintenance kept woman for too long and America's gone broke. Small governments can't keep Kept Women anymore.

The party that whines about putting America at the command of the U.N. wants to put America at the command of Bibi's whims that Israelis of good sense don't support. Religious Armageddonist Christians are all in favor of Armageddon, of course, but that's the best reason to leave them out of the loop--they have a conflict of interest regarding world peace.

May cooler heads than Bibi's prevail.

He's going to make his best pitch on talking head programs this Sunday; let's see what kind of tantrum he's going to throw for not getting his way in ordering America about like his personal slave.

Tantrum?  Whining?  Tell you what.  Go live there until the crisis is resolved. 


Clara, your mental health is starting to worry me.

[clistensprechen]

I've heard him throw tantrums already and he's spooked even Israelis. Let's see what he's got to whine about tomorrow first, shall we?

[kentay]

5 reasons Netanyahu is challenging Obama over Iran

The Israeli premier slams the White House for being weak on Iran, thrusting himself into one of the most controversial foreign policy debates of the 2012 race

1. He knows the election puts Obama in a tough spot
Netanyahu's blistering remarks "suggested that he is willing to use the pressure of the presidential election to try to force Mr. Obama to attack Iran," say David E. Sanger and Isabel Kershner at The New York Times. Netanyahu is "highly attuned to American politics," and knows that Mitt Romney has accused Obama of being soft on Iran and a bad friend to Israel. In demanding that Obama "effectively issue an ultimatum to Iran," Netanyahu is "making maximum use of his political leverage." Indeed, says Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo, "Netanyahu knows that his leverage... grows each day the U.S. gets closer to election day. The day after election day it drops precipitously."
 
2. He is essentially endorsing Mitt Romney
Many see "Netanyahu's rhetoric as an implicit endorsement of Romney," who has argued that "Obama's biggest foreign-policy mistake was failing to halt Iran's nuclear program," says Uri Friedman at Foreign Policy. During the recent Republican and Democratic conventions, both sides used Netanyahu's previous "statements to argue that the Israeli prime minister was on their side." To come out so forcefully with a GOP-friendly line is a clear pushback against the Democrats.
 
3. He's getting desperate
In 2010, when Republicans swept the midterm elections, there was no end to Netanyahu "hectoring, lecturing, and loudly, if indirectly, ridiculing the Obama administration for being soft on Iran," says Bradley Burston at Israel's Haaretz. But Obama's "campaign appears to be surging," giving Netanyahu's latest over-the-top denouncement a whiff of desperation. "After all, it's not every day that the prime minister of an isolated Israel issues what amounts to an ultimatum to his most dependable, most indispensable ally."
 
4. He wants to distract attention from domestic issues
"You don't have to be a political strategist to realize that Benjamin Netanyahu can take advantage of the Iranian nuclear threat to divert attention from his failure to provide solutions for the economic troubles of his citizens," says Ron Ben-Yishai at Ynetnews. Instead of addressing Israel's high poverty rate and wide income gap, he is hoping that the Israeli public will "be distracted" and "focus on the looming Iranian threat."
 
5. Obama is too soft on Iran
Netanyahu's "specific anxiety is not unreasonable," says Jeffrey Goldberg at The Atlantic. The Obama administration has pledged to "keep Iran from possessing a nuclear bomb," but hasn't specified what it considers a step too far. What if Iran is technically non-nuclear, but needs only "a month to put together a nuclear bomb?" Shouldn't that be a clear red line? Obama, disturbingly, hasn't answered that question

http://theweek.com/article/index/233198/5-reasons-netanyahu-is-challenging-obama-over-iran