As tensions continue to grow between the Obama Administration and Israel’s Netanyahu government over Iran, Secretary of State John Kerry rejected the Israeli complaints insisting that nothing in the US-backed deal was a threat to Israel.
That’s the most specific US officials have been in rejecting Israeli complaints, with previous comments centering on the idea that Israel didn’t have a good view of what the closed-door talks were yielding. Israel has insisted it has secured secret information on the talks, and opposes the deal.
Kerry went on to say that while Netanyahu was free to express his “concerns” he was flat out wrong in his claims about the pact, and insisted that the deal would benefit everyone, including Israel.
The Obama Administration is reportedly increasingly annoyed by Israel’s public lobbying of the US Congress against their diplomatic efforts, believing it amounts to inappropriate “meddling” in internal US politics. That annoyance seems to be leading to more willingness to publicly disagree with the Israeli prime minister, something that in years past would’ve been unthinkable for a top US official.
As the Iran talks resume later this week, expect Israel to ratchet up its condemnations once again, but don’t be surprised if the State Department responds specifically to their criticisms.
I hope the rift continues to widen publicly and dramatically between what Israel wants and what is in America's best interests. That this glorified, arms-dealing banana republic has a vice grip on our elected representatives in Kongress is a crying shame and a huge embarrassment. Israel can deal just fine with Iran, like they did not too long ago when the Shah was in power.
They, like Saudi Arabia, need tensions with Iran to be high for their own benefits – much of it coming in the form of free American military and financial aid.
And if it doesn't benefit Israel, so what? Not everything is about these 6.5 million people to the detriment of the hundreds of millions of others who live nearby. America needs to stop being satisfied with piss-poor relations with everyone else for the sake of unliked and unwanted Israel.
Israel, Israel, Israel, Israel…It is always all about Israel. Perhaps our leaders should care more about the 330 million Americans than of the 7 million people of an apartheid, racist, supremacist, state we already subsidize more than all the other countries of the world combined. Wouldn't that be refreshing!
It's ironic that Sec. Kerry has gone from bad guy over Syria to good guy on Iran. If our leaders allow the US to be manipulated into war because of Israeli/Saudi threats, then it doesn't say much of us as a country. The only reason many voted for Obama against Romney was because of exactly this issue. Romney said that there would be no space between his policies and those of his long-time friend Netanyahu, which, I took, as bombs away on Iran. With the Obama admin self-destructing over the ACA fiasco, his best hope for a positive legacy would be peace with Iran. Let's hope he ignores Bibi and AIPAC (as well as the vile Lindsey Graham) and seizes this opportunity.
Obama has a firm grasp of the obvious. That Israel is "meddling" in US policy, and war with Iran could be "messy" are newsworthy only in that such statements are so rarely heard coming from AIPAC bought and paid for US politicians.
You'd think after the Adelson Romney tribute farce that Obomba would know who Americas enemies are.Unfortunately,it doesn't seem like he has a firm belief about anything other than enriching his ivy league classmates.With no political capital to waste(Zionist lobby)he could make the necessary moves to bring about a just settlement in Israel-Palestine,and Iran,but the democratic scrounges think they need him to be Israel centric for their Congressional campaigns.What a disaster for US.
"israel has insisted it has secured secret information on the talks" Must be the special relationship thing.
Everything the US does in the middle east is for the benefit of the zionist. Why would this be any different?