Obama-Netanyahu relations never promised happily-ever-after

[webfact]

Obama-Netanyahu relations never promised happily-ever-after
NANCY BENAC, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — When President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took office early in 2009, there were plenty of reasons to expect their relationship would be difficult.

The cerebral president and the brash prime minister have stark differences in personality, politics and world view. Still, few could have predicted the downward spiral of lecturing and name-calling.

Start with the differences between Obama and Netanyahu, add in disagreements over Iran's nuclear program, a Republican-led Congress trying to assert itself and the coming Israeli elections, and it becomes "the perfect storm" in the U.S.-Israeli relationship, says the Wilson Center's Aaron Miller, who was a Mideast adviser and negotiator for Republican and Democratic administrations.

A look at how the dynamic between Obama and Netanyahu has played out over the years.

A WARY START, March 2009

Netanyahu takes office just months after Obama, and a clash of ideas and chemistry is immediately evident. The prime minister aims to expand Israeli settlements in the West Bank and says a peace agreement with Palestinians is impossible in the current environment. Obama pledges to "aggressively" seek a Mideast peace deal and sends an envoy critical of Israeli settlement-building. Netanyahu also takes a hard line on ensuring that Iran, Israel's enemy, does not obtain nuclear weapons; Obama favors talking with Tehran.
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SETTLEMENT STRAINS, June 2009

During a visit to Cairo, Obama delivers a much-anticipated speech about U.S. relations with the Muslim world in which he calls for the creation of an independent Palestinian state and says the U.S. "does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements." Israel puts out a carefully worded response leaving out any reference to settlements or other issues where the two countries are at odds.
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THE LECTURE, May 2011

Obama suggests using Israel's 1967 boundaries as the basis for restarting stalled peace talks. Seated next to Obama in the Oval Office, with journalists listening in, Netanyahu delivers a long dissertation on why this won't happen, calling the idea "indefensible." But the president tries to minimize the rift, saying, "Obviously there are some differences between us in the precise formulations and language. That's going to happen between friends."
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CONFIDENCES EXPOSED, November 2011

During a meeting of world leaders in southern France, French President Nicolas Sarkozy is overheard telling Obama, "Netanyahu, I can't stand him. He's a liar." Far from disagreeing, Obama replies: "You are sick of him, but I have to work with him every day."
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NO TIME, September 2012

Obama turns down a request to meet with Netanyahu when the Israeli leader visits the U.S. to attend the U.N. General Assembly. The White House cites a tight schedule for the president.
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MAKING NICE, March 2013

The re-elected Obama visits Israel for talks with Netanyahu aimed at laying the groundwork for a new Mideast peace push. Obama and Netanyahu together examine the ancient texts of the Dead Sea Scrolls as the president tries to erase perceptions that he sees the Holocaust, not historical ties to the region, as the rationale for the existence of the Jewish state. Obama becomes the first sitting U.S. president to receive Israel's highest civilian honor when he is awarded the Medal of Distinction during a lavish dinner.
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A CHILL IN THE AIR, March 2014

The mood is cooler when Netanyahu visits Obama in the Oval Office. With the peace process flagging, Obama tells Netanyahu that "tough decisions" are needed to move forward on talks with the Palestinians. "Israel has been doing its part," Netanyahu says, "And, I regret to say, the Palestinians have not."
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ESCALATING TENSIONS, October 2014

Netanyahu complains that recent White House criticism of Israeli settlement construction goes "against American values." The divide over how to counter Iran's nuclear program widens into a chasm. When an unidentified U.S. official is quoted using barnyard terms to deride Netanyahu as cowardly and recalcitrant, the report reverberates across Israel. The State Department calls the anonymous remarks inappropriate, but there are growing concerns of a crisis in U.S.-Israeli relations.
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GOING NUCLEAR, January-March 2015

House Speaker John Boehner, a Republican, arranges — without notifying the White House — for Netanyahu to address a joint meeting of Congress in March to speak out against the potential nuclear deal. The White House complains of a breach of protocol and says Obama won't meet Netanyahu while he's in town. Netanyahu, just weeks away from Israeli elections, says he'll come anyway. Obama's national security adviser, Susan Rice, in unusually harsh words, says Tuesday's planned speech has "injected a degree of partisanship, which is not only unfortunate. I think it's destructive of the fabric of the relationship."

-- (c) Associated Press 2015-03-02

[Ulysses G.]

Netanyahu was an elite, Israeli special forces commando and Obama was a pretentious, left-wing community organizer that never led anything. It is not a surprise that they don't get along.

[ALLSEEINGEYE]

Netanyahu was an elite, Israeli special forces commando and Obama was a pretentious, left-wing community organizer that never led anything. It is not a surprise that they don't get along.

Yes I believe Putin has a military background as well.

[wabothai]

Seems like only military (or ex) call the shots these days.

Bad development that most folks don't like.

[Ulysses G.]

Seems like only military (or ex) call the shots these days.

Bad development that most folks don't like.

When involved in a possible military conflict, it is nice to rely on someone with experience. Obama's failed foreign policy has proven that conclusively.

[BadBouy]

"The cerebral president and the brash prime minister have stark differences in personality, politics and world view."

Cerebral people argue the facts and do not need to devolve into personal attacks. First sentence tells you MS Benac is a partisan. Journalism is on life support if not dead.

Edited March 2, 2015 by BadBouy

[ggt]

This is a common theme with Obama and foreign ministers...there is a common denominator in all these failed relationships...

[hard124get]

If you are going to order your troops to commit mass murder on defenceless civilians, it is handy if you have commited these deeds yourself. Luckily for Netanyahu he had plenty of experience.

[NeverSure]

If you are going to order your troops to commit mass murder on defenceless civilians, it is handy if you have commited these deeds yourself. Luckily for Netanyahu he had plenty of experience.

Finally I agree with you. Netanyahu has a lot of experience at having his civilians mass murdered and wounded by terrorists.

[hard124get]

If you are going to order your troops to commit mass murder on defenceless civilians, it is handy if you have commited these deeds yourself. Luckily for Netanyahu he had plenty of experience.

Finally I agree with you. Netanyahu has a lot of experience at having his civilians mass murdered and wounded by terrorists.

Did he order the the murder of Israelis too? Try to read slowly.

[ezzra]

"The cerebral president and the brash prime minister have stark differences in personality, politics and world view."

Which translate to.. one doesn't give a shit what happened to Israel, and to the other, Israel is the only choice he has and the only home he's got....

[ABCer]

Seems like only military (or ex) call the shots these days.

Bad development that most folks don't like.

Care to list any good shots Obama called?

This purely civilian demagogue has damaged USA enough. Not only militarily.

And if/when USA-Iran 'nuclear development program' will take shape - it will be an ugly one to remember.

[ALLSEEINGEYE]

Seems like only military (or ex) call the shots these days.

Bad development that most folks don't like.

When involved in a possible military conflict, it is nice to rely on someone with experience. Obama's failed foreign policy has proven that conclusively.

I guess you must have felt very warm and squishy inside when G. W Bush was going all hell bent with all of his illegal wars based on blatant lies then? All of that coast guard experience he had to call on must have proved very valuable for him.

I am not sure if cutting up lines of cocaine qualify as great war leadership experience though.

[Srikcir]

Without USA leadership on years of additional sanctions starting well before Obama, and without USA leadership to head negotiations on behalf of the Permanent Members of the UN Security Council, there would be no hope of a nuclear weapon free Iran and Iran would have its nuclear weapons today. For people who argue that US is a servant of Israel, clearly the dispute between Obama and Netanyahu refutes that idea. Obama will do what he and the P6 nations support to defuse Iranian nuclear weapons goal.

What Netanyahu offers:

NO DEAL. Complete capitulation of any and all Iranian nuclear programs present and in the future - forever.

Nations should violate the Nonproliferation Agreement by denying Iran access to nuclear energy while Israel refuses to sign such an agreement.

Israel to make a first strike nuclear attack on Iran with US guarantee to stop any retaliation; Obama refused.

Whether a final deal can be reached is still a question. I think it can be, perhaps Iranians motivated by the very pressure Netanyahu brought to bear against US Congressional Republicans to ramp up more sanctions before Obama agrees to any deal.