A picture paints a thousand words – Obama not only dislikes Netanyahu his administration is actively working to see him defeated.
Last week, Obama administration surrogates angrily sputtered over “protocol”, then rejected the idea of both Obama and Kerry meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu during his congressional visit.
Obama used National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan to claim,
“As a matter of long-standing practice and principle, we do not see heads of state or candidates in close proximity to their elections so as to avoid the appearance of influencing a democratic election in a foreign country.”
And the State Department confirmed ‘US Secretary of State John Kerry would also not hold talks with Netanyahu.’
The election excuse was clearly exposed as nothing but a lie, not once, but twice this week. John Kerry met with the Nigerian presidential candidates Jan. 26 just prior to their election Feb 14, and Obama spent three days with India’s Prime Minister Modi, stirring controversy just 10 days prior to February 7th elections in Delhi.
Now, Obama has stepped out from behind his surrogates (leading from behind again?) to double down on dishonesty.
In a preview released today of his interview with CNN’s water-carrying Fareed Zakaria, Obama says,
“I’m declining to meet with him simply because our general policy is, we don’t meet with any world leader two weeks before their election… I think that’s inappropriate, and that’s true with some of our closest allies.”
Obama claims not to want the appearance of attempting to influence a country’s elections, but his adminstration’s critiques over “protocol”, timing, and message can absolutely be seen as attempting to put his thumb on the scale in Israel. At the same time a U.S. State Department-funded group is financing an Israeli campaign to oust Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
It’s disturbing to watch a US President both embrace dishonesty and shun one of our most important allies at the same time.
