March 3, 2015, - 8:52 am

What Netanyahu Should Say to Congress Today But Won’t; What’s Really Behind the Speech

By Debbie Schlussel

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu should say a lot of things in his speech to Congress, but he won’t say any of them–about growing problems in Israel, like illegal immigration and Muslim birthrates, which are arguably just as dangerous to Israel as the Iranian threat, and which are just as dangerous to America. And, as I’ve said before, I support Netanyahu making the speech, but I think the whole speech and the invitation to give it are a whole lot of smoke and mirrors.

obamaboehnernetanyahuhandsup

House Speaker John Boehner claims the invitation is about Netanyahu’s experience with Iran’s growing nuclear threat at a time when Barack Obama opposes new sanctions with Iran and wants to seal a stupid deal with the country. But none of that is new. Netanyahu has spoken to Congress before on this exact same topic: Iran. And he won’t say anything differently today than what he’s said before. The message is the same. Israel has been living with the Iranian nuclear threat for over a decade, and each time over that decade-plus, we’ve been told that Iran is “this close” to getting nukes. And, throughout that time, the U.S. hasn’t done much.







Under President Bush, we relaxes sanctions against Iran from the tougher stance of Bill Clinton. Clinton, as I’ve noted on this site, allowed only $8 million in “emergency goods” to be sold by U.S. companies to Iran. Bush relaxed this to about $150 million, including Coke, Pepsi, and underwire bras, making sanctions all but meaningless. GOP pretender Carly Fiorina set up a non-U.S. subsidiary of HP, so she could trade and send computers, printers, and ink to the ayatollahs and their people and get around the embargo.

And throughout all of this time, Israel–yes, Netanyahu–hasn’t done anything to attack Iran and destroy its nukes, so they will come to fruition. I don’t believe the stories over the weekend alleging that Obama threatened to shoot down Israeli planes if the Israelis tried to attack Iranian nuclear. The story’s timing, just before Netanyahu’s speech and in a Kuwaiti newspaper, are suspicious. Kuwait, a Sunni emirate, hates Iran and is allied with Israel if not openly so, about the need to destroy the Iranian threat.

But what I do believe is that Obama won’t–just like Bush wouldn’t, despite Dick Cheney’s urging otherwise–provide Israel with the needed bunker busters to destroy the Iranian nuclear sites. It is nearly impossible to penetrate Iran’s nuclear development program, as I’ve said over and over on this site, over the years, and without the bunker busters, it is certainly impossible. The reason is that Iran learned from Israel’s destruction of Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi nuclear silos at Osirak. Osirak was one location with a few nuclear concentrated nuclear sites. So, Iran built its silos and nuclear labs underground, reinforced with cement. And it spread them throughout the country, reportedly in something like 39 to 70 locations. This makes an instant destruction difficult to do, requires a lot of pilot or on-the-ground manpower, and–if all sites aren’t destroyed at once–removes the element of surprise necessary for such an attack.

Netanyahu should really speak to Congress about the growing immigration problem in Israel that may destroy the country from within. Despite ignorant comments from the clueless (Ann Coulter wrote an entirely ignorant column claiming Israel deports its illegal aliens and doesn’t have our open borders problems; the purpose of the column was to attack Jews and promote her openly anti-Semitic, anti-Israel, late friend Joseph Sobran) Israel doesn’t instantly deport its illegal aliens and has exactly the same problems we do with open borders. Israel has the same far-left judges who’ve ruled Israel can’t throw these invaders out. Israel has the same social welfare system and entitlements windfall–actually, much more generous–that it showers on illegal aliens. Israel has the same burgeoning birthrate problems with Muslims inside its borders–Muslims who identify as “Palestinians” but hold Israeli passports and vote a growing number of open HAMAS and Hezbollah supporters into Israel’s Parliament, the Knesset. I’ve written about these Arab Muslim Knesset Members who call for HAMAS to destroy the country from within. This growing Muslim critical mass from within is Israel’s problem and will soon be–actually, it is already–ours.

But Netanyahu’s host–the man who extended the invitation for today’s speech–Speaker Boehner, is an open supporter of granting illegal aliens the right to stay, unfettered, unchecked, and unvetted (there is NO way to vet these people, despite what he and his “comprehensive immigration reform” comrades say). And that’s, likely, the whole reason behind this invitation in the first place. Boehner is under fire from conservatives over his support for immigration amnesty and other positions which aren’t conservative and aren’t good for America. But conservatives–particularly, conservative Christians of the evangelical variety–are very pro-Israel. And his invitation to Netanyahu gives Boehner points with them. It also gives Boehner accolades for pretend-opposition to Obama, who is openly against the Netanyahu speech and invitation. Each gets to grandstand and play the tough guy–Boehner, Obama, and yet, even, Netanyahu.

While I want Netanyahu to win Israel’s impending elections–his closest opponent is lefty Labor candidate Isaac Herzog, who vows to restart “negotiations” (translation: concessions and appeasement) with the Palestinians–Netanyahu isn’t the tough guy or right-winger the media and those on the right would have you believe.

He’s done zilch on the immigration problem. He’s released thousands of Palestinian terrorist murderers from prison. He openly supports a Palestinian state on his borders, when there are three–the Palestinian Authority in Israel’s “West Bank,” HAMASastan in Gaza, and the growing time-bomb from within Israel. His “wars” against HAMAS in Gaza are a waste of time and lives because he won’t destroy them completely, and they simply rebuild with his government’s tacit acquiescence and even cooperation. He’s expanded Israeli government. And the only thing he’s contracted is Jewish settlements and developments. Netanyahu has spent his most recent and current career as Israeli PM taking Jewish land, restricting and shrinking Jewish rights in Jerusalem, and making sundry other moves against Jews and in favor of Jew-hating Palestinian Muslims–to little media coverage in the West because it doesn’t fit the narrative of Big Bad Israel oppressing the Palestinians. Israel is less secure today than it ever has been, just like another country I know ABout: ours. America. Just like the rest of the West.

Netanyahu’s speech should be, “Do as I say, not as I do.” Don’t trade terrorists for American military and civilian hostages. Don’t allow your borders to be open and create a giant welfare state for illegal aliens. Don’t bend your culture to assimilate to Islam’s 14th Century backwards way. But it won’t be. Instead, he gets to play the tough guy on Iran. And, by proxy, John Boehner gets to pretend he’s tough on something, anything. Even though he isn’t. And Barack Obama gets to play to his fellow anti-Israel lefties in the Democratic Party.

They all get to play a part and pretend. Even though none of them–except Obama, the most anti-Israel and Islamo-pandering President ever–are really this way in real life.

That’s wrestlin’. It’s all fake. But it sure looks exciting.






80 Responses

Excellent

Phil Lipofsky on March 3, 2015 at 9:09 am

Familiarity breeds contempt.
Israel could have lived with the threat of a nuclear Iran for 3 decades. It wouldn’t change the fact that it’s not just a threat any more.

thatsallfolks on March 3, 2015 at 10:39 am

A big part of the reason Netanyahu hasn’t done anything about a nuclear Iran up until now is because he’s been discouraged to do so and as you very well know Obama’s been a big factor in that.

thatsallfolks on March 3, 2015 at 10:40 am

Netanyahu didn’t threaten to shoot down the planes as you stated Debbie. Obama did. Whether or not the report is accurate is not nearly as important as the fact that it very well could be. Choosing to believe it or not is the kind of game that’s reached its sell by date. Analyst schmucks in Israel and the US can play that game until doomsday and in fact they are.

thatsallfolks on March 3, 2015 at 10:41 am

So all of this is wishful thinking for a world that no longer exists in my opinion. A bygone era when it didn’t matter too much whether a Democrat or Republican occupied the White House.
But these days a radical Democrat makes a big difference.

thatsallfolks on March 3, 2015 at 10:41 am

This boycott will turn a lot of Jewish voters who usually vote Democrat into Republicans.

Edward on March 3, 2015 at 10:49 am

    Democrats lose votes because Jews will flee due to boycott? Doubt that. Today I found out that there are 30 Jews in Congress and 29 of them are Democrats. lol

    Jon Sobieski on March 3, 2015 at 9:18 pm

Netanyahu would have had a hard time justifying action when there was still hope that sanctions might have had the desired effect.
It’s conceivable they might have had if Obama hadn’t intervened. So I can’t really support any of this on any level whatsoever.

thatsallfolks on March 3, 2015 at 10:50 am

Bill Clinton is gone and he’s never coming back. Never. There might be another Clinton in the White House but the game has changed.

thatsallfolks on March 3, 2015 at 10:59 am

I love getting the straight dope here. DS knows how to focus on the crux of the matter like a laser beam & is surgical in her dismantling of misnomers.

My twitters was entirely set up for my political stance (however, I’ve grown weary of politics & use it now mostly for my own amusement when I wanna zone out) so most of the people I follow are Conservatives…but you should see my timeline…it’s full of well-meaning (but wrong all the same…) Conservatives who think Netanyahu is all DS says he isn’t. It’s demoralizing and I know most of them mean well but it’s so obvious that they are ignorant of the facts. Conservatives want to believe in someone so badly they put certain politicians on a pedestal w/o vetting them or knowing the truth. I can understand why in the advent of Obama-Putin but it’s lazy to the nth degree.

At the end of the day you MUST be privy to what the foundation is. If you don’t, you’re gonna look like a jive-fool like dopey college kids who wear Che Guevara t-shirts w/o knowing what a sociopath he really was.

You can’t take the easy way out if you wanna debate the issues. That’s what Libtards do and they replace facts with feelings & emotions. You gotta do your homework.

And the homework we get here is ridgy-didge (the real deal!).

Skunky on March 3, 2015 at 11:03 am

    Being one the dopes I’ll say this…

    You can get the same stuff from the left wing Israeli media Netanyahu haters. The only difference is they don’t pretend to support what they say is a meaningless speech with as much enthusiasm.
    If you support a meaningless speech then what is your support?
    Meaningless. That’s the correct answer.

    The idea that Netanyahu would weather the storm of criticism and jeopardise the “special relationship” simply to grandstand is not consistent with his previous behaviour as Debbie was at pains to point out.

    No, there’s only one scenario grandstanding on that scale would make sense. The scenario where the world is a radically different place after the speech. That is in fact the correct scenario.

    thatsallfolks on March 3, 2015 at 11:58 am

    As far as Boehner’s motives are concerned they may be even more suspect than mentioned but that’s separate issue.

    thatsallfolks on March 3, 2015 at 12:03 pm

    “ridgy-didge”

    Skunky, we love you, here, but I think you need intervention – your Ozzie-speak is getting out of hand.

    DS_ROCKS! on March 3, 2015 at 1:09 pm

      LOL, DSR! I almost used “Dinky-Di”! 😛

      Skunky on March 3, 2015 at 4:30 pm

“…making sundry other moves against Jews and in favor of Jew-hating Palestinian Muslims–to little media coverage in the West because it doesn’t fit the narrative of Big Bad Israel oppressing the Palestinians.”

Filthy baby-boomer/hippie-immersed hipsters and their “journ-o-list” do what their brainwashing tells them to do.

DS_ROCKS! on March 3, 2015 at 11:30 am

You’re right, Skunky. Great encapsulation of the Conservative problem in America today. But it’s indicative of something broader. Here we are in the greatest nation on earth. Those of us who know what’s up, realize there are no humans left to turn to anymore, anywhere.

And as for the Che Guevara t-shirts, yes, it makes me sick to realize it. I’ve been stuck in the NYC area for nearly nine months, my return to PR delayed lately even further by the record cold and snow storms. I see more and more of those t-shirts. It’s like going back in time. But now I have the wisdom of another three or four decades, and I just shake my head.

And as for the people who keep taking different handles, and have 347 user names for this web site.

Don’t you get tired of doing that? I’d get tired of trying to keep track of TWO usernames, if I had another one.

There must be a reason for that practice. Guess I’m too blond(e) to understand it.

Alfredo from Puerto Rico on March 3, 2015 at 11:34 am

Nicely done, Debbie.

skzion on March 3, 2015 at 11:35 am

I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.

thatsallfolks on March 3, 2015 at 12:10 pm

Hey man Netanyahu shouldn’t be talking about this Nuclear Iran stuff. He doesn’t even have the bunker busters for the job.

We lived through the cold war. That story is old.
He should be talking about stuff we can relate to like immigration.
Assuming Israel is around to worry about it after the fallout that’ll be way more important.

Doesn’t really compute does it?

thatsallfolks on March 3, 2015 at 12:32 pm

It’s that weapons of mass destruction spiel all over again like a serious case of the dĂ©jĂ  vu flu

thatsallfolks on March 3, 2015 at 12:35 pm

dude, that’s not cool

thatsallfolks on March 3, 2015 at 12:37 pm

thatsallfolks, you’re going off the deep end again.

skzion on March 3, 2015 at 1:24 pm

“I don’t believe the stories over the weekend alleging that Netanyahu threatened to shoot down Israeli planes.” Don’t you mean Obama threatened to shoot down Israeli planes?

Red Randy on March 3, 2015 at 2:06 pm

    Yeah, it’s Freudian slip

    thatsallfolks on March 3, 2015 at 2:09 pm

Well, this is a good time for going off the deep end. The plane has crashed into building in case you hadn’t noticed.

“Prime Minister Netanyahu made all sorts of claims: This is going to be a terrible deal. This was going to result in Iran getting $50 billion worth of relief. Iran would not abide by the agreement. None of that has come true.”
says the brilliant Obama meaning none of it has come true yet.”

thatsallfolks on March 3, 2015 at 2:08 pm

    thatsallfolks, I’m commenting on your penchant for two-sentence comments in rapid succession that often don’t make much sense. While I know who you are, you know the risk of making it obvious.

    skzion on March 3, 2015 at 9:26 pm

      Yes, SK I’m well aware of what you’re referring to as usual. As for the danger, I’d have to read between the lines of your circumlocution to ascertain what that is. I suggest you do the same. To an extent what I was talking about was addressed later in the thread by Guardian Angel. Whether by accident or design I’m not sure.

      thatsallfolks on March 6, 2015 at 1:50 am

That Bibi’s speech was branded both beforehand and afterwards as “controversial” shows how far off the deep end in the political structure and the media we’ve fallen. Aside from what Debbie has noted about him, he is far more a garden variety centrist vs. what has been suggested in the media about him. Only if compared with the looney leftists in his own country would Bibi be even remotely considered “hard right.” Of course, if Netanyahu had brought up the long-term threat to our survival as a society (never mind that of the rest of the West) from massive Muslim immigration and high Muslim birthrates, the long knives really would have been out for him.

But it wasn’t just those in the House and Senate who skipped the speech, who are essentially on the same side as ISIS. So are the media. To a person.

ConcernedPatriot on March 3, 2015 at 2:36 pm

No major revelations in the speech so basically just an excuse for the boys to have fun while Obama’s away with some bi-partisan shmaltz thrown in for good measure. Might make the political price of a bad deal go up but Obama doesn’t care about that. Some Democrats might be concerned about paying it later on.

thatsallfolks on March 3, 2015 at 2:45 pm

I think there are both positive and negative aspects to Netanyahu’s speech to Congress today.

On the positive side, even with all the ulterior motives of the participants involved: the fact that Netanyahu was able to speak before Congress and to present, at least to some extent, the case against Iran. This is important because it occurs in the context of an international effort that has been going on for many years to ostracize Israel from any aspect of legitimate international existence. UN bodies have been excluding Israel since the inception of the UN, all kinds of European meetings excluding Israel, the Paris Solidarity March of a few weeks ago trying to exclude Netanyahu, etc. So any time he gets a chance to speak in front of an important political body is a plus.

On the negative side: a re-emerging in grotesque form, of the Black-Jewish alliance. That allianace, such as it is, has been built during the last few decades, on a foundation of appeasement of Black anti-semites, but has reached a new low today.

Incredibly, in order to placate Blacks and other liberals, the Jewish establishment has turned on Israel with something approaching hatred. And of course, the appeasement doesn’t work. The anti-semitism among Blacks just gets worse and worse. Overwhelming Jewish support of Obama’s candidacies, and the anti-semitism gets worse. And the Hispanics have started following the anti-semitic lead of the Blacks

More subtly, but perhaps in the long run, more important, is the continuation for Republicans of the opportunistic benefits Debbie spoke of in her post.

Most of the Republican candidates, including Jeb Bush, stated their belief that it was appropriate for Netanyahu to speak to Congress. Just as Boehner can now buttress his conservative credentials, Bush and the rest of them can do the same. If one of them successfully becomes President, he can use this newfound credibility to sit around and either do nothing, or pursue policies such as those followed by prior Republicans such as Clueless Condi which will hurt Israel, while basking in the glow of having stood up to Obama in advocating Netanyahu’s right to speak to Congress.

Same for the Republicans in Congress. They can use the prestige they gained from standing up to Obama as an excuse to do nothing concrete in the future to help Israel. And of course, defending Netanyahu’s right to speak to Congress does not commit them to any policy.

Unless either Netanyahu or Congressional Republicans pursue aggressively meaningfully pro-Israeli actions in the near future, based on the starting point, so to speak, of today’s speech, I am afraid the negatives will outweigh the positives.

Little Al on March 3, 2015 at 2:45 pm

    If the pundits are correct and this is all about getting Netanyahu elected then the White House media blitz on Netanyahu could equally easily be explained as a desperate attempt to achieve the opposite.
    That would be a significant positive given the alternative.

    thatsallfolks on March 3, 2015 at 3:50 pm

    One more brief comment about the tragic inability of the American Jewish elite to learn anything from their past pandering to the Democrats.

    It is worth reading a 15-year-old book by Gulie Ne’eman Arad, called America its Jews and the rise of Nazism (Indiana, 2000), which lays out in detail the extent and futility of the Jewish leadership’s (sic) subordination of Jewish interests to the interests of FDR. Not hard to obtain on Amazon, a decent college library, or interlibrary loan.

    Without question, many of the Jewish misleaders of today are familiar with this history in words, but either have learned nothing from it, or put their own opportunism ahead of the interests of the people they purport to represent.

    Little Al on March 3, 2015 at 5:23 pm

      Gulie Ne’eman Arad’s book is available for the cost of shipping from Amazon. I just got a copy. Thanks Little Al.

      skzion on March 3, 2015 at 9:19 pm

        I hope you find it worth reading.

        Little Al on March 4, 2015 at 12:37 am

      The “controversy” regarding the Netanyahu speech before Congress all boils down to a single concept: Leftist-Americans are ALWAYS leftist-firsters. It does not matter whether they are Jewish leftists, JINO leftists, VAJINO leftists, Islamic leftists, white leftists, black leftists or whatever brand of leftism you’re talking about. (And for some of those groups, like blacks, Muslims, JINOs, and VAJINOs, the majority of their members are leftists.) So to leftists, naturally, America and Israel are only going to be secondary considerations at best, or mere afterthoughts, if that. If major decisions are left to leftists, disaster will surely follow as night follows day.

      Ralph Adamo on March 4, 2015 at 1:57 am

    “Unless either Netanyahu or Congressional Republicans pursue aggressively meaningfully pro-Israeli actions in the near future, based on the starting point, so to speak, of today’s speech. . . .”

    Little Al, I’m glad you mentioned Netanyahu, because, as Debbie has emphasized, he needs to become pro-Israel as well.

    A few years ago, I developed an unlikely ally in the comments section of Israel National News, Vienna Mike (from Vienna, VA, supposedly). He was Orthodox and ex-military. We both agreed that urging Jews to move to Israel was a disaster because we thought Israel would be destroyed in our lifetimes. The issue wasn’t primarily the US or the Muslims but Israel itself, where “Israelis” controlled the main levers of power and “Jews” were seen as a great threat. After these past few years, I see no reason to change my view.

    skzion on March 3, 2015 at 5:50 pm

The media has been billing Netanyahu as as some hyper-aggressive monster, which is far from the case. Boehner was just trying to appear in one area, while backing down on DHS and other areas.

Worry on March 3, 2015 at 2:48 pm

The following words to me meant EVERYTHING that Israel is today and their leader wants EVERYBODY to GET IT!!!!

When he said all the following words , I knew he means getting down and dirty IF he has too…NEVER FORGET , in action!

“But I can guarantee you this, the days when the Jewish people remained passive in the face of genocidal enemies, those days are over.

We are no longer scattered among the nations, powerless to defend ourselves. We restored our sovereignty in our ancient home. And the soldiers who defend our home have boundless courage. For the first time in 100 generations, we, the Jewish people, can defend ourselves.

This is why — this is why, as a prime minister of Israel, I can promise you one more thing: Even if Israel has to stand alone, Israel will stand.”

AMEN to that BiBi!! Bless your heart!

It's just me again on March 3, 2015 at 8:51 pm

Pretty much how I feel about it. Another parade, jesters for the easily amused, something for everyone.

Jon Sobieski on March 3, 2015 at 9:14 pm

Debbie’s analysis is the only one – amid a cacophony of self-serving punditry – that MAKES SENSE of the disparate facts and pronouncements.

For a medium-sized country such as Iran or North Korea, it is quite feasible to build SOME kind of atomic bomb (probably using uranium-235 rather than plutonium which is much trickier to ignite).

As Debbie has pointed out, a military strike would have to destroy ALL of Iran’s nuclear-related sites in order to provide real breathing space. Indeed, even such a (miraculous) outcome would still leave Iran with the EXPERTISE to start afresh, as well as raw materials and equipment that Iran will have stashed away for just such an eventuality.

It may well be that Israel has concluded that its best option is to live with the nuclear threat, and count on the threat of retaliation as a deterrent. This, of course, would be the equivalent of the Cold War (and continuing) doctrine of “Mutual Assured Destruction”, with also known as MAD.

Debbie is no doubt correct that Netanyahu’s speech happily aligns the grandstanding needs of Boehner, Obama and Netanyahu. However, behind all the politicking, Obama’s “negotiations” with Iran well could put Israel in a MUCH WORSE position than the current impasse, and injury to Israel is undoubtedly what Obama and Kerry (descended from over-assimilated Jews) intend.

Guardian Angel on March 3, 2015 at 11:01 pm

    @The Guardian – Dumb Ass

    Yes what a surprise, the MAD Cold War scenario. However that doesn’t play out too well in the region with multiple Iranian proxies and inevitable proliferation.
    It has a certain reassurance of familiarity to it though for all the resident thumb suckers in the US and elsewhere.

    Also Israel will most likely not be Iran’s first target.

    Destroying the nuclear program of Iran combined with sanctions would no doubt set the program back decades but of course it’s not a final systematic solution to problem. And of course dumb asses like you have been indoctrinated since birth to imagine that there is such a final solution.

    thatsallfolks on March 4, 2015 at 1:18 am

      @thatsallfolks

      Perhaps this sentence in the original post was INSUFFICIENTLY PROMINENT:

      “It may well be that Israel has concluded that its best option is to live with the nuclear threat, and count on the threat of retaliation as a deterrent.”

      Saying that Israel may have reached this conclusion is quite different from advocating it.

      Guardian Angel on March 4, 2015 at 10:03 pm

        Yes, but you are advocating living with something like MAD as the best bad strategy without understanding why it’s a specious analogy.
        And at the same time speciously criticizing Netanyahu based on your deluded talking points analysis of the situation.

        Never worry that I don’t understand you Dumb Ass. You’re about as transparently nuanced as Marie Harf. The whole world is laughing at your substitute teacher cluckings but you’re too arrogant and dumb to know it. Go lay an egg somewhere else.

        thatsallfolks on March 5, 2015 at 10:59 am

          @thatsallfolks

          Don’t we have enough problems with Soros-bots and other trolls here and elsewhere? Let’s try and go a little easy on the ad hominems.

          Perhaps this sentence in the original post and the follow-up was INSUFFICIENTLY PROMINENT and INSUFFICIENTLY EMPHATIC for thatsallfolks:

          “It may well be that Israel has concluded that its best option is to live with the nuclear threat, and count on the threat of retaliation as a deterrent.”

          Saying that Israel may have reached this conclusion is quite different from advocating it.

          Guardian Angel on March 4, 2015 at 10:03 pm

          Guardian Angel on March 5, 2015 at 3:54 pm

    But this is the standard leftist clap trap analysis one would expect from the administration and unfortunately apparently also closer to home.

    thatsallfolks on March 4, 2015 at 1:23 am

    “Obama’s “negotiations” with Iran well could put Israel in a MUCH WORSE position than the current impasse.

    How do you know that Netanyahu is grandstanding in that case?
    Anyway, Obama is creating the “impasse” by legitimizing Iran’s path to the bomb.
    This doesn’t make sense. If Israel had already conceded the bomb to Iran then Obama’s negotiations would have no impact either way.

    thatsallfolks on March 5, 2015 at 11:29 am

    Gaurdian

    “Saying that Israel may have reached this conclusion is quite different from advocating it.”

    It’s not important whether you advocate it or not. What’s important is that following your line of hypothetical reasoning Israel has already accepted this state of affairs so Obama’s negotiations are only the rubber stamp.

    You don’t address this point because as far as I can tell you don’t really have one.
    Whether you advocate it or not is not what concerns me.

    thatsallfolks on March 6, 2015 at 1:38 am

      What concerns is that you seem to think Netanyahu is speaking to the American public about this issue simply out of a hypocritical desire to grandstand. In that case the speech can safely be ignored as Obama’s administration would urge.
      And logically so. They would in effect not be grandstanding in their denunciation of it. They would be plainly stating the reality of Israeli policy.

      thatsallfolks on March 6, 2015 at 1:40 am

I just discovered this site the other day. I love it! Great analysis of Bibi’s speech. He really does need to start walking his talking.

ebyjeeby on March 3, 2015 at 11:53 pm

    Walking his talking would be a great idea if the US was prepared to walk with him.
    However the moment Netanyahu stops walking Obama’s talking people like you suddenly decide it’s a good time to take a hike off the reservation.

    thatsallfolks on March 4, 2015 at 1:41 am

I thought it was the best speech Netanyahu ever gave. Here are my thoughts on it.

It came from his heart more than from political calculation – great speeches are made, not born.

For me, the bookends of the speech beginning with the invocation of Queen Esther – who saved her people from annihilation at the hands of Haman the anti-Semite in the Persian Empire and the ending with the exhortation of Moses to be resolute and of good courage, for me were the highlights of the address.

They encapsulate Jewish history in a nutshell. And I was very moved by the Prime Minister’s promise to the Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel who was in attendance.

Netanyahu may lose the election this month but I don’t think he cares as much about his political future as much he cares about the fate of the Jewish people.

Make no mistake, the Prime Minister was right this is a very bad deal and he pointed out Iran is not a Jewish problem; its the world’s problem.

Obama wants a deal at any price. Israel’s Prime Minister stood up in Congress and said “thanks but no thanks.” He spoke for the Jewish people Tuesday morning in an address that was a tour de force.

NormanF on March 4, 2015 at 5:33 am

    Actually Norman, Bibi spoke for the Saudis who have the power to direct Congressional agenda but are not palatable to present the thesis to the American people.

    Israel has first-strike capability. Israel has anti-missile defense. Israel has retaliatory capability.

    Saudi Arabia has little of that and the President is sick and tired of spending American blood and treasure defending them. The Saudis don’t dare address Congress so they let Bibi do their dirty work for them because American policy also imperils Israel.

    Bibi did good, but this wasn’t another “Jews is news” event no matter how the media spins it. It’s the Saudis!

    If O’Bama’s Iranian policy didn’t imperil Saudi Arabia, Bibi would never have gotten an audience like that.

    There is NO Santa Claus on March 4, 2015 at 8:22 am

      Iran will be happy to drop a dirty bomb down your chimney one day Santa.

      thatsallfolks on March 4, 2015 at 8:36 am

      TINSC, you made some predictions about (Arab) foreign representatives who would be present at the speech. Were those predictions correct?

      skzion on March 4, 2015 at 10:50 am

        skizion:

        Oh man! I’ve been so tied up at work lately, I haven’t been able to follow through researching the issue.

        One thing is for sure! If there were any representatives (official or otherwise) from Arab League States, the news media sure as heck isn’t reporting it.

        If I see anything to answer your question, I’ll do what I can to post it here. If you see anything on the subject, please post it.

        I can’t say I actually predicted representatives from Arab League States would attend the speech, but I sure as heck thought it possible.

        Thanks for the reminder. I did a quick search. What I came up with was an article in Ha’aretz noting that the Saudi news media is openly supporting Bibi’s speech.

        Here’s a link to that article: http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.645338

        I wish I had time to dig into this further. Ha’aretz isn’t my favorite news source. You might check MEMRI and see if they are reporting similar feedback in the Saudi news media.

        There is NO Santa Claus on March 4, 2015 at 11:59 pm

          Santa, I guess you didn’t exactly “predict” an outcome: “Sure! Some Congressmen are going to be absent today when Bibi gives his speech. But the real question in my mind is this: How many Ambassadors from Arab League States will attend?”

          Al-Jazeera was against the speech, but not as harshly as most high-profile left wing talking heads were. The Saudis were very clearly supportive.

          skzion on March 5, 2015 at 5:17 pm

    It was very gracious of Netanyahu to compliment Obama considering the president couldn’t find the time to listen.

    Great day out for the boys but Obama will soon fly back on his broomstick and sweep it under the rug.

    thatsallfolks on March 4, 2015 at 8:42 am

Mr Netanyahu is a modern-day Winston Churchill, shouting into the wind (but hopefully getting through).
The prime minister of Israel gave a brilliant and moving speech to the United States Congress. He is a compelling advocate for the Jewish people and for civilisation in the Middle East.
Given Iran’s record on warfare by proxy, support for global terrorism and ambitions to be a regional superpower do you really think that they can be trusted with the ultimate weapon of mass destruction?

Peter on March 4, 2015 at 10:52 am

anybody who supports judaism or israel or america (or any other nation or ideology) more than non-proliferation of nuclear arms is either a fool or believes in discredited M.A.D. deterrance strategy.

The double standards dilemma: from an Non-proliferation Treaty perspective, Israel doesn’t compare favorably with Iran at all.

zan on March 4, 2015 at 1:33 pm

    anybody who supports judaism or israel or america (or any other nation or ideology) more than non-proliferation of nuclear arms is either a fool or believes in discredited M.A.D. deterrance strategy.

    zan, in addition to being tedious, you are a Muslim, which means that you looove genocide. You just don’t want others to implement it first on you and yours.

    Non-proliferation is not a plus or a minus in itself. Nuclear powers tend to like it because … they want to preserve their advantage. Nor is MAD “discredited” overall, as should be evident from the history of post-war US-USSR relations.

    The issue is why a nuclear power should permit a genocidal (in this case, Muslim) regime to become nuclear. I cannot see any advantage for the US, Israel, or any Western nuclear power to have Iran join that club. Therefore, either Iran’s nuclear capability should be removed (by nuclear or conventional means) or–and I think preferably–both the capability and the regime should be ended.

    All the abstract values talk about “non-proliferation” is a smokescreen. Nice try.

    skzion on March 4, 2015 at 5:20 pm

    I wonder what ZZZZZZzzzzzan thinks of countries like Russia & North Korea who lie about their Nuclear Weapons? What a shocker that ZZzzzzan prolly loves the UN & considers him/her self a “humanist”. LOLOL!

    What a boring maroon Zzzzzzzan is. At least he follows the template for the extremely dumb!

    I’m PROUD to stand for everything ZZZZZzzzan disapproves of!

    Skunky on March 4, 2015 at 5:54 pm

Debbie, who do you support for PM if not Netanyahu?

Susan on March 4, 2015 at 2:04 pm

zan,

Israel has never threatened any country with extinction.

There are no double standards here because Israel has never pledged to use nuclear weapons on its enemies.

Iran has exactly the opposite policy.

For all of Netanyahu’s flaws (and Debbie and I acknowledge them) he is not the one endorsing a nuclear arms race in the Middle East.

That would be Obama who wants to give the mullahs everything they want as long they promise only to attack Israel.

But what do I know? My ancestors were those random people in a deli Obama openly disparages.

NormanF on March 4, 2015 at 2:07 pm

    NormanF,

    I get your point, but the Lukud party formation statement–and the clear statement on the record of many of israels leaders have called for the genocide of peoples.

    zan on March 4, 2015 at 3:18 pm

      That is a blood libel.

      No Israeli political party has ever called for anything of the sort.

      But I don’t you on here denouncing Islamic Greater Barbaristan.

      NormanF on March 4, 2015 at 4:41 pm

        Norman, zan is a Muslim. What do you expect?

        skzion on March 4, 2015 at 5:22 pm

        Norman, zan is obviously so far left that he(she) doesn’t know what’s right.

        Also, for a little history lesson, Jews have played a disproportionately large role as pioneers of atomic weaponry, as well as advocates of disarmament.

        When the US Government recognized during WWII that it needed to develop atomic weapons to ensure the survival of civilization, it recruited the best scientists that they could. Most of them were Jews. Among the names were: J. Robert Oppenheim, Edward Teller, John Von Neumann, Leo Szilard, Lise, Meitner, Niels Bohr, and Joseph Rotblat–to name of few, who built on the ideas of Albert Einstein.

        So, in a way, the Bomb has always been in Jewish hands–and we should be thankful that is so. But civilization will be imperiled–like before–if the Bomb should fall into the hands of the enemies of Jews. The enemies of Jews are the enemies of civilization.

        Ralph Adamo on March 4, 2015 at 5:26 pm

        [B]ut the Lukud [sic – Likud?] party formation statement–and the clear statement on the record of many of israels leaders have called for the genocide of peoples.

        Thanks, zan, for giving us this absolutely fascinating specimen of Mohammedan projection. It is, of course, the Muslim Brotherhood affiliated HAMAS in Gaza whose party statutes expressly call for the annihilation of Jews (not just Israel) as mandated by the cult’s “Holy Qur’an.”

        The West (including Israel) will have to consider – really consider whether barbarians can be fought back effectively if we insist on wearing kid gloves, unilaterally afford Geneva convention benefits to the rapists and headcutters, and allowing foreign agents posing as journalists to undermine our military operations.

        Guardian Angel on March 4, 2015 at 10:20 pm

Susan,

Debbie isn’t a Netanyahu fan but she has endorsed his re-election.

He is a decent man and on Iran he truly believes the mullahs want to finish Hitler’s job and complete the annihilation of the one and only Jewish State in the world.

Obama believes everything is political – that is, its all about him, no matter the subject. On the other hand, Netanyahu believes Iran is a Rorschach Test about the moral fiber of the West.

One that I believe its failing.

NormanF on March 4, 2015 at 2:12 pm

Bill Clinton may have allowed only 8 million in emergency goods to be sold the Iran, but he relaxed the Hell out the restrictions for trade with China. China’s might economically & militarily was all brought to us by the Clinton Administration. Thanks Bill! Go get yourself another youngster.

MuzzCrusher on March 4, 2015 at 5:18 pm

The liberal attacks on Netanyahu during the last day or two are something to behold.

In a way this was to be expected, but I was surprised at the vehemence of the attacks — worse than the attacks against Putin, any of the Muslim countries, Castro, Venezuela, etc. He is being demeaned, ridiculed and marginalized. The only comparison that I think is apt is the attacks on Khrushchev agt the height of the cold war, and I think these attacks surpass even those.

U.S. antisemitism on display for the entire world.

Little Al on March 4, 2015 at 6:09 pm

You are a sad pedant, a useless hater. Your baseless characterizations HAVE ruined countless lives. Oh, is that anti-Semetic? Golly. You should have free rein to tar anyone with that accusation as you see fit. But you’re too dumb and not really smart enough to get the attention Ann Coulter does. Maybe a deeper shade of Jewish bottle blond!

Character Assasin on March 5, 2015 at 5:18 am

    Countless lives you say? Can you name just one? No you can’t because you’re empty vessel other people bang for amusement.

    thatsallfolks on March 5, 2015 at 11:13 am

    an empty vessel full of nothing

    thatsallfolks on March 5, 2015 at 11:15 am

Well, I guess CA’s comment tells us the types of people Ann Coulter appeals to.

Little Al on March 5, 2015 at 6:24 am

And of course, “subject verb tense” is even sillier.

skzion on March 5, 2015 at 1:53 pm

Israel has submarine-launched ballistic missiles. Israel should have nuked Iran years ago with these SLBMs. Israel’s air force is too small, and too far away from Iran to destroy Iran’s nuke program without using nukes. The US air force would likely take weeks or months, using non-nuke arms, to destroy Iran’s nuke program.

I believe Iran’s nuke program, like Pakistan’s, is a sufficient threat to the world to warrant being destroyed by US or Israel nuke attack. Apparently The West has lost the will to live and will sit and wait for a nuke attack from Islam. If Israel places it’s “no first use” pledge above its survival they will see a Muslim nuke attack. It could have been prevented, but it wasn’t. Very sad. The Muslims will have the nuke war they want, the only question is why are we letting them take the first shot. Nuke Iran while it will still do some good!

Scott M on March 14, 2015 at 5:42 pm

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