Netanyahu: He came, he delivered, he failed

[bemildred]

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was still in the air between Tel Aviv and Washington when his propaganda machinery was set fully in motion. A senior Israeli official travelling with him told reporters: "The Israeli government had a good understanding of the agreement we can draw conclusions from... We know what we know. And believe me, we know a lot of information about this agreement... The prime minister is going to Congress to explain what they don't know about this agreement that it is a bad agreement."

This piece of disinformation was clearly meant to counter the earlier criticism by US Secretary of State John Kerry that Netanyahu had a record of misleading Americans by cherry-picking intelligence that served his purposes. Hours before he was about to deliver his speech at the Congress, the White House warned Netanyahu not to spill the secret aspects of the negotiations with Iran. In equal measures and just as Netanyahu was about to address Congress, US President Barack Obama minced no words and categorically discredited Netanyahu from knowing what is best for the US or for Israel for that matter.

All sorts of claims'

"Netanyahu made all sorts of claims," CNN quoted him as having said. "This was going to be a terrible deal. This was going to result in Iran getting $50bn worth of relief. Iran would not abide by the agreement. None of that has come true."

Literally minutes before Netanyahu's speech, the White House announced that as soon as the Israeli politician started his address to the Congress, the president would be "hosting a conference call with five world leaders to discuss the situation in Ukraine and other global security issues".

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2015/03/netanyahu-delivered-failed-150304063900037.html

[Voice for Peace]

1. nicely played by the prez

he remains a classy guy

[Cryptoad]

2. comeon own up to it,,,,

Bibi did provide some cover for the GOP vote on funding DHS yesterday!

[Jefferson23]

3. Very good piece, this is so spot on:

The ruling regime in Iran has its own desperation to lift the crippling economic sanctions, but the Obama administration's persistence in finding a closure to the nuclear issue is not just to hand Obama a victory before he leaves office. As I have suggested for a long time, the nuclear issue is the least aspect of the US-Iran issues. There is a larger package, a grand bargain as it were, which announces a major strategic shift in the region, in which both US and Iran acknowledge each other's power and interest and wish to accommodate each other - and it is precisely this grand bargain that frightens Netanyahu.

Much hype has been made of the difference between the Obama administration and Netanyahu on the Iran nuclear issue. This rift is first and foremost strategic and only vaguely points to the emerging structural shifts in the geopolitics of the region. The symbiotic relationship between the Zionists' militarism and US global warmongering is far deeper and remains far more structural than one US president or one Israeli warlord can alter. What Iran has successfully done is to bank on its expansive soft and hard power in the region to posit itself as equally - if not more - helpful to US policies in the region. This is what angers Netanyahu.

K&R

[geek tragedy]

4. and this is the crux--Iran is now in a position to put more on the table in terms of helping

the US than Israel is willing to do.

Israel's biggest contribution--biggest way it could help--would be to seek a good faith resolution to its dispute with the Palestinians.

Iran is willing to help fight ISIS, we know that. What else are they offering?

By the same token, it's true that Iran is doing a lot more that's contrary to our efforts of course.

[Jefferson23]

5. Yes, I agree with you and my hope is more Americans come to realize Iran is not

the existential threat as a result of Obama's position. I could quibble about that, but
the bottom line is that he is attempting to end that literally tragic approach in our
foreign policy history. An outstanding move in the correct direction, I think.

[geek tragedy]

6. the Cuba approach didn't bring Castro down, only made him stronger nt

[Jefferson23]

7. Exactly...it was wrong on many levels. n/t

[Aerows]

8. Nailed it.

"this is the crux--Iran is now in a position to put more on the table in terms of helping
the US than Israel is willing to do"