I would have guessed that Obama would not meet Netanyahu because our Dear Leader despises Jews in general and strong Jews in particular. I must be wrong though; the White House said otherwise. The snub is just politics.
Posted on 01/22/2015 11:50:33 AM PST by maggief
President Obama will not meet with Benjamin Netanyahu during the Israeli prime minister’s visit to the United States in March, a White House official said Thursday.
"As a matter of long-standing practice and principle, we do not see heads of state or candidates in close proximity to their elections, so as to avoid the appearance of influencing a democratic election in a foreign country," National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan said in a statement.
Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) had originally invited Netanyahu to speak early next month, but the Israeli leader asked to push back the address to coincide with his appearance at AIPAC. Netanyahu's trip to the U.S. will come just two weeks before the Israeli elections.
Aides to Boehner have indicated they expect the Israeli leader to criticize Obama's efforts to broker a deal to ease sanctions in exchange for ending Iran's nuclear weapons program in his address to Congress.
Netanyahu has denounced the negotiations in the past, saying Tehran lacks credibility. And the Israeli leader stands to benefit domestically by showing distance from Obama.
The Speaker cast the invitation as a repudiation of the president's threat to veto legislation that would impose additional sanctions on Iran if they walk away from the nuclear negotiations.
Meehan said Obama had "been clear about his opposition to Congress passing new legislation on Iran that could undermine our negotiations and divide the international community."
"The President has had many conversations with the Prime Minister on this matter, and I am sure they will continue to be in contact on this and other important matters," she added.
White House chief of staff Denis McDonough on Thursday declined to weigh in on the political motivations behind Netanyahu's travel plans, saying the administration was evaluating its diplomatic and security relationship "without regard of the partisan political game."
McDonough said at a Politico lunch that the White House would "make sure we're focused on addressing this from the facts that we have and the very deep relationship" that exists.
State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said earlier Thursday that the administration had "been expressing our displeasure pretty clearly publicly" over the invite, which she cast as a breach of protocol.
“There’s no question the process here was a bit bizarre and certainly a bit unusual," she said in an interview with CNN.
FLASHBACK:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/07/18/obama.trip/index.html?iref=mpstoryview
July 19, 2008
Obama takes campaign trail overseas
CNN) — Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is in Afghanistan on a multistop overseas trip for meetings with international leaders but with an eye on the U.S. presidential race back home.
Obama’s trip, which includes visits to Iraq, Jordan, Israel, Germany, France and the United Kingdom, is intended to bolster his foreign policy credentials before U.S. voters.
(snip)
Obama is expected to meet Israel’s top leaders: President Shimon Peres, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Likud Party leader Benjamin Netanyahu; and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salaam Fayad.
Obama can expect a friendly reception in Europe, where he will meet Thursday with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Obama to Iran: “ Will you hurry up and finish the bomb? I’m looking like a fool stalling this agreement!! “
I would have guessed that Obama would not meet Netanyahu because our Dear Leader despises Jews in general and strong Jews in particular. I must be wrong though; the White House said otherwise. The snub is just politics.
They actually expect people to believe this outright lie?
Bibi, as most real men, probably cannot stomach being in the same room with this ...pansy.
Bibi was heard saying ...”who needs him?”
Anything Boehner does to poke the Zero in the eye is fine by me. A new tactic was in order.
See my next post
But the Dims can send James Carville over THERE to try and unseat Bibi in 1999.
"Long standing practice" , suuurrree.
...following the American report that alleged that Mossad Head Tamir Pardo had warned US senators against further Iran sanctions, in contradiction of Israel's official stance. "The fraudulent claims against the Mossad Head were raised by the Americans yesterday, despite a message that had been transmitted to them on Tuesday by Intelligence Minister [Yuval] Steintz," the senior Israeli source told Channel 2 news. He added that Israel had gone over the minutes of the meeting between Pardo and the delegation of senators, and that Pardo had not said what was attributed to him. "Leaking the Mossad Head's statements, even if they had not been falsified, is a serious breach of all the rules," the senior source added. "Friends do not behave like this. Information from a secret meeting must not leak out." [ Fury in Israel Over Obama's Mossad 'Lies' ]
Yeah, well we all know what a stickler the pResident is for avoiding even the appearance of impropriety ... but you know the temptation remains on Hussein’s part to schedule him, but then keep the leader of an important ally waiting, then apologize, re-schedule and have him escorted out the service entrance past the dumpsters and Hefty bags.
That is disgusting but then zero is....
we go from day to day to day,
having damage, insult, and (like this) downright Embarrassment
inflicted on us
by
The One.
every blessed day he does something(s) to weaken America or our economy (destroying more and more jobs)....or he subverts our liberty...
every blessed day.
Obama Admin and Bad Decisions go hand in hand . They learned nothing from the Paris screw up
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.