If anybody thought that Netanyahu being invited by Obama to the White House actually signified some kind of change, guess again:
Washington's unprecedented backing for a UN resolution for a nuclear-free Middle East that singles out Israel has both angered and deeply worried the Jewish state although officials are cagey about openly criticising their biggest ally.
The resolution adopted by the United Nations on Friday calls on Israel to join the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and urges it to open its facilities to inspection.
It also calls for a regional conference in 2012 to advance the goal of a nuclear-free Middle East.
Israel is widely believed to be the only nuclear power in the Middle East, with around 200 warheads, but has maintained a policy of deliberate ambiguity about its capabilities since the mid-1960s.
The document, which singles out Israel but makes no mention of Iran's controversial nuclear programme, drew a furious reaction from the Jewish state who decried it as "deeply flawed and hypocritical."
But it was US backing for the resolution which has caused the most consternation among Israeli officials and commentators, who interpreted the move as "a resounding slap around the face" which has dealt a very public blow to Israel's long-accepted policy of nuclear ambiguity.
Publicly, the Israel government has not criticised the US position but privately, officials expressed deep disappointment over the resolution, which Washington backed despite intensive Israeli efforts to block it.
According to the top-selling Yediot Aharonot daily, the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was "furious with the Obama administration for having failed to prevent the resolution from passing... and for choosing to support it."
"The American support for the resolution, after decades in which it supported Israel on this issue, came as a complete surprise," the paper said.
"In the secret talks that Netanyahu held with Obama's men... Israel was promised that the resolution would not focus on Israel and that if it did, the Americans would vote against."
The Bush Administration, faced with a similar situation back in 2005 simply refused to go further and legitimize this bigotry. Obama, of course is a very different animal.
Obama's NSA Adviser James L. Jones was on the record just last Friday after the einitial draft surfaced saying how the US "deplores" the singling out of Israel and would "not permit a conference or actions that could jeopardize Israel's national security."
Ri-ight.You betcha.
As far as Obama and Netanyahu's meeting goes, look for the president behind closed doors to spend most of his time trying to muscle more unilateral concessions for the Palestinians out of Bibi and warning him Israel had better get used to a Nuclear Iran. It will not be a cordial meeting.
Obama's last minute invite to Netanyahu simply a political dog and pony show using Netanyahu as a prop to try and shore up some of Prez Zero's plummeting support among American Jews.
Mark my words, things are eventually going to get to the point where the Israelis remember that they survived the first twenty years of their national existence without any help from the US whatsoever, and they were less able to do so then than they are now. They're going to Just Say No and sever all but the most basic ties if this nonsense continues.
Ultimately, I think the US will be poorer for the absence of that alliance. I think that many people in our military/intel/diplomatic establishment realize it, and I expect the US to take steps to renew the relationship once Prez Zero and his regime are out of office.
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