At Odds With Obama, Netanyahu Begins U.S. Visit

Source: Reuters

At odds with Obama, Netanyahu begins U.S. visit

By Jeffrey Heller – 44 mins ago

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plans to focus his first White House talks with U.S. President Barack Obama on ways to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear arms, a Netanyahu adviser said on Sunday.

At odds with Obama over Palestinian statehood, an objective of Middle East peacemaking the United States has championed and Netanyahu has balked at endorsing, the Israeli leader began his first visit to Washington since taking office two months ago.

On the eve of Netanyahu's meeting Monday with Obama, the prime minister's national security adviser, Uzi Arad, said, "As things are planned, Mr. Netanyahu will focus on the subject of a nuclear Iran." "That is clear, not only because it is (an) existential (threat) as far as Israel's security is concerned, but because Iran is constantly making progress toward nuclear military capability," he told reporters. "It's a joint objective for both (Israel and the United States). Preventing Iran from obtaining this capability will be the center of the talks."

In a Newsweek magazine interview, Obama, who has been seeking to engage Iran on a series of issues from its nuclear program to Afghanistan, said he hoped to persuade Netanyahu that the U.S. approach was best.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090517/pl_nm/us_israel_usa_netanyahu