Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, arrived on Sunday for a speech to Congress even though it was scheduled for the following Tuesday. By accepting an invitation from the Republican Party to give a speech to Congress on Tuesday, the Obama administration was infuriated because it never approved of it and which said it was not told of the speech until it was made public which was an apparent breach of protocol. Obama's security adviser, Susan Rice, called Netanyahu's plans "destructive to the fabric of the relationship" between the US and Israel. The purpose of Netanyahu's upcoming speech is to urge Congress to approve new sanctions against Iran despite Obama's decision to veto the legislation because it would put at risk such nuclear talks. According to the article, US officials fear that this speech to Congress is simply a publicity stunt where Netanyahu is simply trying to sabotage the Iran diplomacy and garner support from voters back home. The Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif noted that Netanyahu is trying to undermine nuclear talks. He even stated that "Netanyahu is opposed to any sort of solution."
Questions:
So, what are your thoughts on Netanyahu's motives? Do you think he's actually trying to undermine nuclear talks between the US and Iran?
What can or should be done to ease tensions between the US and Israel before Netanyahu's upcoming speech?
How should the Obama administration respond to the acceptance of the invitation for the speech? What are your thoughts on how the Republican party sent the invitation but the Democratic Party was never informed?
What are the potential outcomes of Netanyahu's speech?
1 comment:
It's my theory that Netanyahu is betting that there will be a Republican in the White House in 2016 and is preemptively lacing his bets on what he believes will be the winning team. This could prove dangerous, since Obama has more than a year left in office. This is especially true since Obama is facing a hostile Congress and might set his sights on foreign policy, where he has more leeway to carry out his agenda. Obama seems very committed to reaching some sort of agreement with Iran.
Netanyahu could also be posturing for his next election, which is in two weeks. In 2012, he also hosted a dinner for Mitt Romney. This could just be a rerun of 2012, abet a poorly times one with the ongoing Nuclear Iran talks.
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