The rift between the Obama
administration and Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin “Bibi”
Netanyahu is growing more apparent. And it might be indicative of
changing relations between the U.S. and Iran.
On Tuesday The Atlantic published an article titled
“The Crisis in U.S.-Israeli Relations Is Officially Here.” Well, if
it weren’t already, it is now. The piece opens with
this quote:
The thing about Bibi is, he’s a chickenshit.
The colorful opinion comes from a “senior Obama administration
official” who remains unnamed. Whoever it was went on to
explain:
The good thing about Netanyahu is that he’s scared to launch
wars. The bad thing about him is that he won’t do anything to reach
an accommodation with the Palestinians or with the Sunni Arab
states. The only thing he’s interested in is protecting himself
from political defeat. … He’s got no gust.
Netanyahu
responded on Wednesday:
Our supreme interests, chiefly the security and unity of
Jerusalem, are not the main concern of those anonymous officials
who attack us and me personally, as the assault on me comes only
because I defend the State of Israel. …Despite all of the attacks
I suffer, I will continue to defend our country. I will continue to
defend the citizens of Israel.
Alistair Baskey, spokesman for the National Security Council,
assures that the “chickenshit” comment does not reflect the views
of the rest of the Obama administration. However,
reports Fox, “administration officials … did not signal there
would be any robust effort to find out who said it.” Baskey also
says that the two nations “do not agree on every issue,” pointing
out the U.S.’s view that Israel’s annexation and settlement of
certain territories is illegitimate and counter-productive.
At The Washington Post Daniel Drezner points out that
the report coincides with news “on how the United States appears to
be tacitly and not-so-tacitly coordinating with Iran across a range
of Greater Middle East issues.” He
speculates:
The one thing this kind of trash-talking does is send a signal
to Iran about the U.S. commitment to a nuclear deal. Bear in mind
that in recent weeks the administration has made it cleat
that it
won’t be going to Congress to get approval for the
permanent lifting of any Iran sanctions. But this raises the
question for both Iranian negotiators and Iranian hardliners of
just how much they can trust their American interlocutors to
implement such a deal. Furthermore, Netanyahu’s persistent and
bellicose rhetoric towards Tehran would also have to be a source of
concern for the Iranians. If they cut a nuclear deal, they want it
to be implemented and they want the shadow of military action
lifted.Calling out Netanyahu serves both functions for the Obama
administration. The way one signals credibility in a world of
uncertainty is to take a costly action. Since congressional
approval is now off the table, dissing America’s closest ally in
the region serves as an imperfect substitute. It’s costly, so it
sends a signal of serious intent.
In August I highlighted a report from global intelligence and
advisory firm Stratfor that indicated the ISIS war could mark a
positive change in U.S.-Iran relations.
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