Is Obama About To ‘Throw Israel Under The Bus’, Again?
“President Obama has thrown Israel under the bus. He has disrespected Israel and undermined its ability to negotiate peace,” said Mitt Romney in a statement.
“He has also violated a first principle of American foreign policy, which is to stand firm by our friends,” added the former Massachusetts governor.
No, this not Romney talking today – these are the words he uttered three years ago in response to Obama trying to dictate to Israel his version of a peace plan.
Prime Minister Netanyahu’s rejection — some say public humiliation — of President Obama at that time was the beginning of the end of cordial U.S. Israeli relations. Since then, there has been a lot of wallpapering over the cracks.
Perhaps Israel should have seen the writing on the wall after the increasingly strident and critical comments emanating from the White House as the Gaza War progressed. However, Obama has not satisfied himself by just complaining; now he is taking action.
The Wall Street Journal is carrying a report that Obama personally instructed that a shipment of hellfire missiles owed to Israel be stopped. He was shocked to learn that the Pentagon had been shipping ammunition to Israel during the conflict.
Now, according to WSJ, the Obama administration has tightened its control on arms transfers to Israel. But Israeli and U.S. officials say that the adroit bureaucratic maneuvering made it plain how little influence the White House and State Department have with the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — and that both sides know it.
Indeed, U.S.-Israeli relations are now at the lowest point since President Barack Obama took office, and questions are now being asked about whether Obama and Netanyahu can ever work together effectively in the future. Netanyahu is also unhappy about the way the U.S. is dealing with Iran, which he perceives to be be far more dangerous in the long term than Hamas.
Many White House officials are saying this Gaza conflict has persuaded them that Netanyahu and his national security team are both reckless and untrustworthy.
Israel believes the Obama administration is weak and naive, so it is endeavoring to bypass the White House and put its trust in Congress, where it has overwhelming support. Basically, Netanyahu thinks he can simply wait out the current administration.
David Horowitz, founding editor of The Times Of Israel, penned an editorial in which he states:
“It is frankly astounding to the overwhelming majority of Israelis that Israel is being blamed for and pressured to end a war it manifestly sought to avoid — against a terrorist-government sworn to its destruction that repeatedly breaches the ceasefire efforts Israel consistently accepts. That the conflict is widely misrepresented, and that hostile governments are critical, is bad enough for Israel. Far, far graver is that key allies, to one degree or another, are turning upon it.”
America used to be one of Israel’s “key allies.”
Is it still?
