Israeli Prime Minister, Bibi Netanyahu, arrives in the U.S. to address Congress on Tuesday at the invitation of House Speaker, John Boehner. The event has the White House irate, because the administration believes the invitation is a slight, mocking their attempts at patronizing Iran and its nuclear build-up.
In that regard, Bradley Klapper of the Associated Press writes that Secretary of State, John Kerry said, “Our hope is that diplomacy can work. And I believe, given our success of the interim agreement, we deserve the benefit of the doubt to find out whether or not we can get a similarly good agreement with respect to the future."
Nonetheless, Mr. Netanyahu, “will press his opposition to a diplomatic accommodation of Iran's program” in his speech, saying “he is making the address out of concern of Israel's security.” And that, “I will do everything in my ability to secure our future," describing himself as "an emissary" of the Jewish people.
Speaker Boehner said on CBS' "Face the Nation: “Iran's nuclear ambitions were a threat well beyond the region. We're not going to resolve this issue by sticking our heads in the sand.” Continuing that, “Netanyahu can talk about this threat, I believe, better than anyone. And the United States Congress wants to hear from him, and so do the American people."
On the administration’s side national security adviser, Susan Rice, described the timing and partisan manner of Netanyahu's visit as "destructive" for the U.S.-Israeli relationship. She of course, is best remembered for still believing the Benghazi attack was the work of a spontaneous crowd, instead of Islamic militants.
One of the most powerful supporting commentaries came from William Kristol on weeklystandard.com who compared Mr. Netanyahu to several world statesmen in times of crisis.
Mr. Kristol writes that Netanyahu “is an Israeli patriot and nationalist. But he also appreciates the historic role and accomplishments of the great nation-states of the West. History—the history of the Jewish people, but not only the Jewish people—is always on his mind. He is inspired by the example of Ze’ev Jabotinsky—and also of Winston Churchill. He appreciates the legacy of David Ben-Gurion—and also of Harry Truman.”
Then, he compared Mr. Netanyahu to Winston Churchill in detail, writing, “When Netanyahu walks to the podium of the House of Representatives on March 3, he’ll undoubtedly have in mind an earlier speech given by a foreign leader to a joint meeting of Congress. On December 26, 1941, Winston Churchill addressed Congress, though in the smaller Senate Chamber rather than in the House, as so many members were out of town for Christmas break.
“Churchill enjoyed the great advantage in December 1941 of having an American president who, after Pearl Harbor, was a clear and unambiguous ally in the war for the West. Netanyahu has no such advantage. So it might be hard for him to say, as Churchill did, that here in Washington he had “found an Olympian fortitude which, far from being based upon complacency, is only the mask of an inflexible purpose and the proof of a sure, well-grounded confidence in the final outcome.”
And then, Mr. Kristol came to his point which sums up the critical importance of the event by noting: “But Netanyahu won’t be speaking only to the Obama administration, which has, after all, made clear its lack of interest in listening to Netanyahu and whose allies won’t be there to listen. He’ll be speaking to the American people.
“The prime minister of Israel, speaking on behalf of not only his country and millions of Jews, but on behalf of the West itself, will command the world’s attention as he declares his refusal to appease the enemies of Israel and the West. Both Jabotinsky and Churchill, both Ben-Gurion and Truman, would appreciate the moment.”
Now, naturally, it will be up to individuals the world over to determine for themselves how strongly Mr. Netanyahu's thoughts and words will affect them. And also, whether they agree with him or not. But, regardless of what any listener might opine, it’s really striking to consider that an empty dress like Susan Rice could ever be mentioned on the same page as Winston Churchill, regarding their thoughts on world events.
That’s it for today folks.
Adios
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