Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has gone to war. Not against Iran. Not yet, at least. But his bellicose road to Tehran runs through Washington. A month and a half before the presidential election in the United States, Netanyahu has been picking a very public fight with the administration of President Barack Obama.
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It’s very simple and it’s no great secret: Netanyahu wants to see Obama defeated on November 6. He wants Romney elected. It’s possible that Netanyahu genuinely believes that Romney is good for Israel, that the new administration will be quick to attack Iran or will at least encourage Israel to do so. There is no logical reason for him to think this. Those Americans who support Romney hold even more isolationist views than do Obama voters; they are wary of another military entanglement and they balk at spending so much money on such operations, which, in turn, would cost the American economy dearly.
But even if Netanyahu can foresee the future and even if Romney would comply with orders coming from Jerusalem, the outcome Netanyahu wants would be catastrophic. Israel would be accused of meddling in domestic American politics, perhaps even of trying to overthrow the president. And just so that the prime minister can beat the drums of war. Acquiring that kind of reputation, which would never be erased, would exact a much more painful price from Israel than would even the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran.
You see, Bibi has got it all twisted, that the U.S. can’t survive without Israel, when it’s the other way around. It’s pretty damning that his own country’s newspaper can lambast him in such a manner. It’s plain to see what he’s trying to do in attempting to force President Obama’s hand. The reality is, Benjamin Netanyahu isn’t dealing with a “shoot first, aim later” president. That would be Mitt Romney, who by all intents and purposes, is trailing President Obama in the polls, with the lead widening.
Benjamin Netanyahu may have over-played his hand, since Mitt Romney has come under a barrage of criticisms from fellow Republicans. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak intimated that he isn’t “party to the onslaught against Obama,” the Haaretz reports. You see, he recognizes that Israel needs America as a strategic partner while it is straddled by enemies on all sides. So, Bibi Netanyahu throwing a hissy-fit in an attempt to undermine President Obama is going to backfire in a big way. President Obama isn’t the only one not interested in a war with Iran, the leaders of the U.S. military are opposed to it, from as far back as the Bush administration. So, his rebuke of President Obama was outrageous and plain rude.
This was cross-posted from The Hinterland Gazette.