Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu is here in the U.S. for a three-day visit. On Monday, he will meet with President Obama.
The Jerusalem Post describes the visit as an attempt to offset Iranian Prime Minister Rouhani’s “charm offensive.” Unfortunately, anyone clueless and/or anti-Israel enough to be charmed by Rouhani will be immune to the charm of Netanyahu which, to the extent it can be detected, consists of speaking truth to the clueless and the anti-Israeli. For the likes of Barack Obama, Netanyahu’s charm is no match for Rouhani’s.
Netanyahu’s objective is more concrete than a charm counter-offensiveness. He wants the U.S. to hold Iran’s feet to the fire during negotiations by insisting that the Iranian regime (1) stop all uranium enrichment, (2) transfer the enriched uranium it has accumulated out of the country, (3) close down the Fordow uranium enrichment plant, and (4) stop working on a plutonium channel to a nuclear bomb.
Obama’s objectives, I imagine, are to persuade Netanyahu (1) not to bad-mouth him for negotiating with Iran and (2) to make concessions to the Palestinians pursuant to the revived “peace talks.”
Netanyahu should agree not to bad mouth Obama for negotiating with Iran only if Obama commits to upholding Netanyahu’s demands on Iran, as listed above. As for concessions to the Palestinians, Netanyahu should make none. If Obama insists on concessions, Netanyahu should call him out publicly.
It’s bad enough that Obama decided to undermine Israel’s security by participating in Iran’s scheme to run out the clock through negotiations. Netanyahu shouldn’t reward that decision by allowing Obama to use it to gain leverage over Israel in its dealings with the PA.
Notice: All comments are subject to moderation. Our comments are intended to be a forum for civil discourse bearing on the subject under discussion. Commenters who stray beyond the bounds of civility or employ what we deem gratuitous vulgarity in a comment — including, but not limited to, “s***,” “f***,” “a*******,” or one of their many variants — will be banned without further notice in the sole discretion of the site moderator.