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Related: About this forumBinyamin Netanyahu 'Chickenshit', Say US Officials in Explosive Interview
http://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/318-66/26659-binyamin-netanyahu-chickenshit-say-us-officials-in-explosive-interview
US relations with Israel have plunged to new depths of bitterness and hostility as senior officials in the Obama administration decried Binyamin Netanyahu as a chickenshit prime minister, coward and a man more interested in his own political survival than peace.
The furious assessment delivered in anonymous but no-holds barred comments in an interview with the American journalist Jeffrey Goldberg in the Atlantic underline a state of anger with Netanyahu that is characterised as red hot.
The remarks are particularly telling in having been made to Goldberg, a Washington insider who has interviewed both Obama and Netanyahu, and who warned US-Israeli relations were in a full-blown crisis that could only get worse after the midterm elections.
Speaking to the Israeli parliament the Knesset a few hours after the comments were revealed, Netanyahu angrily insisted he was under attack simply for defending Israel, adding that he cherished Israels relationship with the US.
When there are pressures on Israel to concede its security, the easiest thing to do is to concede, he said. You get a round of applause, ceremonies on grassy knolls, and then come the missiles and the tunnels.
The Obama officials comments underline the dismal state of relations between the Obama administration and Netanyahu after a series of damaging announcements by Israel including again this week regarding its determination to push ahead with settlement building in occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank.
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Binyamin Netanyahu 'Chickenshit', Say US Officials in Explosive Interview (Original Post)
eridani
Oct 2014
OP
shaayecanaan
(6,068 posts)1. the linked goldberg article is an interesting piece
couple of tidbits in there:-
One of the more notable aspects of the current tension between Israel and the U.S. is the unease felt by mainstream American Jewish leaders about recent Israeli government behavior. The Israelis do not show sufficient appreciation for Americas role in backing Israel, economically, militarily and politically, Abraham Foxman, the head of the Anti-Defamation League, told me. (UPDATE: Foxman just e-mailed me this statement: "The quote is accurate, but the context is wrong. I was referring to what troubles this administration about Israel, not what troubles leaders in the American Jewish community."
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The good thing about Netanyahu is that hes scared to launch wars, the official said, expanding the definition of what a chickenshit Israeli prime minister looks like. The bad thing about him is that he wont do anything to reach an accommodation with the Palestinians or with the Sunni Arab states. The only thing hes interested in is protecting himself from political defeat. Hes not Yitzhak Rabin, hes not Ariel Sharon, hes certainly no Menachem Begin. Hes got no guts.
I ran this notion by another senior official who deals with the Israel file regularly. This official agreed that Netanyahu is a chickenshit on matters related to the comatose peace process, but added that hes also a coward on the issue of Irans nuclear threat. The official said the Obama administration no longer believes that Netanyahu would launch a preemptive strike on Irans nuclear facilities in order to keep the regime in Tehran from building an atomic arsenal. Its too late for him to do anything. Two, three years ago, this was a possibility. But ultimately he couldnt bring himself to pull the trigger. It was a combination of our pressure and his own unwillingness to do anything dramatic. Now its too late.
I ran this notion by another senior official who deals with the Israel file regularly. This official agreed that Netanyahu is a chickenshit on matters related to the comatose peace process, but added that hes also a coward on the issue of Irans nuclear threat. The official said the Obama administration no longer believes that Netanyahu would launch a preemptive strike on Irans nuclear facilities in order to keep the regime in Tehran from building an atomic arsenal. Its too late for him to do anything. Two, three years ago, this was a possibility. But ultimately he couldnt bring himself to pull the trigger. It was a combination of our pressure and his own unwillingness to do anything dramatic. Now its too late.
4now
(1,596 posts)2. Netanyahu the chickensh*t
Netanyahu orders the murder of hundreds of innocent Palestinian children because he is too chickenshit to face Iran.
What an apt description of a disgusting little man.