"US nudge on nuclear arms catches Israel off guard" by Mark Landler, New York Times | July 4, 2010
WASHINGTON — It was only one paragraph buried deep in the most plain-vanilla kind of diplomatic document, 40 pages of dry language committing 189 nations to a world free of nuclear weapons. But it has become the latest source of friction between Israel and the United States in a relationship that has lurched from crisis to crisis over the last few months.
You know, the kind of thing that got Kennedy killed.
At an annual meeting to review the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty in May, the United States yielded to demands by Arab nations that the final document urge Israel to sign the treaty — a way of spotlighting its historically undeclared nuclear weapons.
Israel believed it had assurances from the Obama administration that it would reject efforts to include such a reference, an Israeli official said, and it saw this as another sign of unreliability by its most important ally.
So Bibi is coming to DELIVER a THREAT!!!
In a recent visit to Washington, Israel’s defense minister, Ehud Barak, raised the issue in meetings with senior American officials.
With Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu scheduled to meet President Obama at the White House Tuesday, the flap may introduce a discordant note into a meeting that both sides are eager to portray as a chance for Israel and the United States to turn the page after a rocky period.
Don't worry, the MSM SCREEN will do a great job!
Other things have changed notably for the better in American-Israeli relations since Netanyahu called off his last visit to the White House to rush home to deal with the crisis after Israel’s deadly attack on a humanitarian aid flotilla sailing to Gaza in late May. His agreement to ease the land blockade on Gaza, which came at the request of the United States, has helped thaw the chill between the governments, American and Israeli officials said.
Meanwhile, the raft of new sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program, after the passage of the UN resolution, has reassured Israelis, who viewed Obama’s attempts to engage Iran with unease. Obama signed the American sanctions into law Thursday.
“The overall tone is more of a feel-good visit than we’ve seen in the past,’’ said David Makovsky, director of the Project on the Middle East Peace Process at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a research group. “It has been more focused on making sure that the Ides of March have passed.’’
He was referring to the dispute during a visit to Israel by Vice President Joe Biden in March, when Israel approved plans for Jewish housing in East Jerusalem. Obama was enraged by what he perceived as a slight to Biden, and when Netanyahu visited a few weeks later, the While House showed its displeasure by banning cameras from recording the visit.
Related: Israel Biden Their Time on Iran
See why I do not take the fighting flap seriously?
Despite the better atmospherics, some analysts said the nuclear nonproliferation issue symbolizes why Israel remains insecure about the intentions of the Obama administration.
In addition to singling out Israel, the document calls for a regional conference in 2012 to lay the groundwork for a nuclear-free zone in the Middle East.
Which is something Israel simply will not have!
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Related:
"Gate crashers make waves
WASHINGTON — The publicity-hungry couple were in a limousine that was stopped by a Secret Service officer blocks from the White House on Wednesday night as the Obamas’ second state dinner was underway inside. Their driver was ticketed about 8 p.m. after running a red light and signaling an intent to turn into a restricted area near the Ellipse, located behind the White House, according to Edwin Donovan, Secret Service spokesman....
--more--"Just a REMINDER to Obama that THEY CAN GET TO HIM!!!
Shouldn't have gone to the bathhouse, 'bamer.
WASHINGTON — President Obama will meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today at a moment when US-Israeli ties are improving. Further warming may depend on whether Israel extends a settlement-building freeze due to expire in September.
Related: Israel razes 6 East Jerusalem sites
Talk about s***ting in his face.
The United States sided with Israel in the face of international criticism following its raid on a Gaza aid flotilla in May and persuaded the United Nations to impose additional sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program last month.
Those actions helped reverse a downturn in relations that developed over Israel’s plan to build 1,600 new homes in East Jerusalem.
Translation: The U.S. APPROVES of ISRAEL'S ACTIONS!
Dan Shapiro, senior director at the White House for the Middle East and North Africa, told reporters last week that the freeze on building new homes in West Bank settlements, announced by Netanyahu on Nov. 25, has helped advance efforts toward the goal of direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.
And the RAZING just KNOCKED 'EM DOWN AGAIN!
“There has been a distinct improvement in the White House relationship with Israel since the last meeting’’ between Obama and Netanyahu on March 23, said Jonathan Spyer, a political scientist at Israel’s Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya. “Obama will be looking for a payback,’’ perhaps in the form of an extension to the settlement freeze, Spyer said.
Paid back with a poop in the puss?
The stakes are potentially high for both leaders. Obama has expended political capital on reviving the peace negotiations, beginning with indirect talks intended to lead toward direct ones, something that aides to the Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas, say won’t happen unless Israel halts all settlement building.
Maybe Obama should deal with the disdain his own citizens have for him at his fellatio of Israel.
They KILLED an AMERICAN CITIZEN and HE DOESN'T CARE!
Netanyahu could lose his parliamentary majority if he extends the settlement freeze beyond the Sept. 26 expiration.
GOOD -- not that it will matter much. Another crop of Zionist war criminals will just replace them.
Other than that, I couldn't give any less of a s*** about Bibi's political prospects.
The Obama administration is “very keen to see the moratorium extended,’’ said Roger Danin, a senior fellow for Middle East and Africa studies at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington. “That’s a very difficult issue they will probably not be able to resolve during this visit.’’
Shapiro said the focus of the discussion between the leaders would be “on making that transition into direct talks’’ and on what has been covered through the indirect talks.
US officials say that relations between the two countries have improved considerably since March, when Israel’s announcement of the East Jerusalem housing plan in the midst of a visit by Vice President Joe Biden drew criticism from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
I covered those above, and what a contrast to what the NYT was reporting only a few days ago!!!
Obama shielded Israel from international censure at the UN, after Israeli forces killed nine pro-Palestinian Turkish activists aboard a ship trying to breach a naval blockade on the Gaza Strip.
Yeah, never mind that one was an American and the pro-Palestinian designation implies anti-Israel.
So be it then. What human being could ever be pro-Israel?
In May, the president requested $205 million from Congress to fund a medium-range missile-defense system for Israel.
Un-f****ing-believable!!
Like we have money to spare for that s***!
The system is intended to protect Israel from rockets and mortars from Gaza and Lebanon.
Yup, that is WHO THIS GOVERNMENT WORKS FOR!
In their meeting, the two men will also discuss Iran’s nuclear program, which Israeli officials call an existential threat.
Yeah, that is the MAIN TOPIC behind this MSM COVER STORY about "peace" with the Palestinians!
US relations could sour again if Netanyahu sticks to his pledge to renew settlement building when the freeze ends on Sept. 26. The Israeli leader is under pressure to lift the West Bank construction ban from allies in his coalition and members of his Likud party.
Oh, I DOUBT IT VERY MUCH!
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WASHINGTON — Eager to show unity to the world, President Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel dismissed talk of a rift yesterday as wildly unfounded....
Then the AmeriKan MSM is full of liars, huh?
In a warm, yet carefully choreographed White House embrace, the two leaders took pains to convince allies and enemies alike that a deeply important relationship is doing just fine.
The two nations clearly felt that was necessary. The meeting occurred five weeks after Israel’s deadly raid on a flotilla that was trying to break the Israeli blockade of the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. That raid brought international outrage and tested US support for Israel’s security steps.
He pass the test?
But the images and words of yesterday’s visit all sent one message: unshaken cooperation.
Netanyahu emerged with promises from Obama that the United States is committed to Israel’s security....
Translation: We will attack Iran or let you and then back you up.
Where there was agreement, such as on Iran’s nuclear ambitions or the promise of Mideast peace, Obama and Netanyahu emphasized it yesterday.
It is going to be one hell of a hot summer!
That's why he was here, not this peace pullover as a cover.
Where tensions remain, such as on Israeli settlements or the attack on the aid flotilla, there was little public mention.
“The bond between the United States and Israel is unbreakable,’’ Obama said near the start of his comments in the Oval Office, with Netanyahu at his side.
Translation: THEY HAVE ME by the BALLS!!!
By the time the two leaders took questions from reporters, including one that asserted Obama had distanced himself from Israel, the leaders were ready.
“The premise of your question was wrong, and I entirely disagree with it,’’ Obama said calmly. Even in times of tough conversations with Netanyahu, he said, “the underlying approach never changes, and that is, the United States is committed to Israel’s security. We are committed to that special bond.’’
Netanyahu added a flavor of Mark Twain: “The reports about the demise of the special US-Israel relationship aren’t just premature. They’re just flat wrong.’’
I'm not laughing.
The president commended the Israeli government for showing “restraint’’ over the past several months....
Why don't you just let him publicly screw you in the ass, 'bamer?
In one last touch, the Israeli prime minister invited Obama and his wife, Michelle, for a visit to Israel.
Easier to kill him and blame a Muslim, huh?
“It’s about time,’’ Netanyahu said.
I'd cancel the trip. Please cancel the trip, Mr. President.
You may be a tool, but tools can turn on their wielder.
I sure as hell do not want another dead president.
Said a smiling Obama: “We look forward to it.’’
You have a death wish or something?
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