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Obama got his feathers ruffled, poor guy.
WASHINGTON - The Obama administration, after days of mounting tension, signaled on Wednesday how angry it is with Israel that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accepted Republican leaders' invitation to address Congress on Iran without consulting the White House.
The outrage the episode has incited within President Obama's inner circle became clear in unusually sharp criticism by a senior administration official who said that the Israeli ambassador, Ron Dermer, who helped orchestrate the invitation, had repeatedly placed Mr. Netanyahu's political fortunes above the relationship between Israel and the United States.
The official who made the comments to The New York Times would not be named, and the White House declined to comment. The remarks were the latest fallout after Mr. Dermer, without the White House's knowledge, worked with House Speaker John A. Boehner to arrange the speech, which is scheduled for March.
The remarks are likely to escalate a feud between the White House, Republicans on Capitol Hill and Mr. Netanyahu over the invitation, which has led to a new low in American-Israeli relations and threatened to mar the long tradition of bipartisan support for Israel in Congress.
Such officially authorized criticisms of diplomats from major allies are unusual.
In a telephone interview late Wednesday, Mr. Dermer said, "I have no regrets whatsoever that I have acted in a way to advance my country's interests." He said he never meant to slight the White House by keeping the confidence of the House speaker, who had suggested the invitation. He said he left it to Mr. Boehner to notify Mr. Obama's team.
"My understanding was that it was the speaker's prerogative to do, and that he would be the one to inform the administration," Mr. Dermer said. "The prime minister feels very strongly that he has to speak on this issue. That's why he accepted the invitation, not to wade into your political debate or make this a partisan issue, and not to be disrespectful to the president."
Mr. Dermer, an American-born former Republican political operative who is so close to Mr. Netanyahu that he is often called "Bibi's brain," became Israel's envoy to the United States in 2013. White House officials were at first wary that Mr. Dermer would politicize relations between the United States and Israel, but over time cultivated a working relationship with him after concluding that there were advantages in his closeness to Mr. Netanyahu.
The last week has borne out their initial concerns.
Mr. Dermer relayed the invitation to Mr. Netanyahu from Mr. Boehner, Republican of Ohio, without notifying top officials in Washington or Jerusalem. American and Israeli officials said that Mr. Dermer, in the course of a lengthy meeting with Secretary of State John Kerry just before Mr. Netanyahu's speech was announced, never mentioned it.
In response, the White House has called the invitation a breach of diplomatic protocol and announced that Mr. Obama would not meet with Mr. Netanyahu when he visits. Administration officials maintained that the decision to avoid Mr. Netanyahu was consistent with a policy of not meeting with world leaders close to their elections - Israel's is two weeks after the speech - to avoid the appearance of influence. But that policy has been ignored in the past. On Capitol Hill, Democrats have called the invitation a political stunt to undercut the president. It has also inserted Mr. Netanyahu into the middle of a dispute between Mr. Obama and congressional Republicans over new Iran sanctions, which the president opposes until international negotiations to prevent Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon play out.
Our POTUS, the narcissistic Muslim, is mad because he won't be center stage where he can talk down to the minions below him. Netanyahu, for all of his many flaws is willing to live in peace with his rag-head neighbors. He is somewhat safe from them as long as the nukes are held by only Israel and the superpowers. Iran can not be allowed to have a nuke and stronger sanctions need applied to N. Korea to disarm them.
The outrage the episode has incited within President Obama's inner circle became clear in unusually sharp criticism by a senior administration official who said that the Israeli ambassador, Ron Dermer, who helped orchestrate the invitation, had repeatedly placed Mr. Netanyahu's political fortunes above the relationship between Israel and the United States.
The official who made the comments to The New York Times would not be named, and the White House declined to comment. The remarks were the latest fallout after Mr. Dermer, without the White House's knowledge, worked with House Speaker John A. Boehner to arrange the speech, which is scheduled for March.
The remarks are likely to escalate a feud between the White House, Republicans on Capitol Hill and Mr. Netanyahu over the invitation, which has led to a new low in American-Israeli relations and threatened to mar the long tradition of bipartisan support for Israel in Congress.
Such officially authorized criticisms of diplomats from major allies are unusual.
In a telephone interview late Wednesday, Mr. Dermer said, "I have no regrets whatsoever that I have acted in a way to advance my country's interests." He said he never meant to slight the White House by keeping the confidence of the House speaker, who had suggested the invitation. He said he left it to Mr. Boehner to notify Mr. Obama's team.
"My understanding was that it was the speaker's prerogative to do, and that he would be the one to inform the administration," Mr. Dermer said. "The prime minister feels very strongly that he has to speak on this issue. That's why he accepted the invitation, not to wade into your political debate or make this a partisan issue, and not to be disrespectful to the president."
Mr. Dermer, an American-born former Republican political operative who is so close to Mr. Netanyahu that he is often called "Bibi's brain," became Israel's envoy to the United States in 2013. White House officials were at first wary that Mr. Dermer would politicize relations between the United States and Israel, but over time cultivated a working relationship with him after concluding that there were advantages in his closeness to Mr. Netanyahu.
The last week has borne out their initial concerns.
Mr. Dermer relayed the invitation to Mr. Netanyahu from Mr. Boehner, Republican of Ohio, without notifying top officials in Washington or Jerusalem. American and Israeli officials said that Mr. Dermer, in the course of a lengthy meeting with Secretary of State John Kerry just before Mr. Netanyahu's speech was announced, never mentioned it.
In response, the White House has called the invitation a breach of diplomatic protocol and announced that Mr. Obama would not meet with Mr. Netanyahu when he visits. Administration officials maintained that the decision to avoid Mr. Netanyahu was consistent with a policy of not meeting with world leaders close to their elections - Israel's is two weeks after the speech - to avoid the appearance of influence. But that policy has been ignored in the past. On Capitol Hill, Democrats have called the invitation a political stunt to undercut the president. It has also inserted Mr. Netanyahu into the middle of a dispute between Mr. Obama and congressional Republicans over new Iran sanctions, which the president opposes until international negotiations to prevent Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon play out.
Our POTUS, the narcissistic Muslim, is mad because he won't be center stage where he can talk down to the minions below him. Netanyahu, for all of his many flaws is willing to live in peace with his rag-head neighbors. He is somewhat safe from them as long as the nukes are held by only Israel and the superpowers. Iran can not be allowed to have a nuke and stronger sanctions need applied to N. Korea to disarm them.
Comments
Bpost, I'm sure DaveJ will be along shortly to point out the errors in your thinking...
And how would zero know anything about diplomatic protocol????????