Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is making it clear that Israel will not wait to take out Iranian nuclear facilities.I am waiting on the day Iran tests a nuclear bomb and Obama goes "Oops!" What "fun" that will be. When asked to meet with President Obama, Netanyahu was told that President Obama is too busy, but he will be appearing on Letterman that day.
In heated comments toward the United States, the Israeli prime minister said that it’s becoming clear that diplomacy will not work with Iran.
“The world tells Israel, `Wait. There’s still time,’” Netanyahu said Tuesday, according to The Associated Press. “And I say: `Wait for what? Wait until when?’ Those in the international community who refuse to put red lines before Iran don’t have a moral right to place a red light before Israel.”
The Obama administration has consistently stated that they don’t want to go the military route against Iran and give more time for the sanctions to force Tehran to give up its nuclear ambitions.
Netanyahu worries Iran will continue developing nuclear technology without giving the Islamic nation a firm timeline to stop.
“If Iran knows that there is no deadline, what will it do? Exactly what it’s doing. It’s continuing, without any interference, towards obtaining nuclear weapons capability and from there, nuclear bombs,” he said, according to Haaertz.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak tried to downplay the harsh rhetoric, saying in a statement to Haaertz that the tension between the U.S. and Israel should be ironed out “behind closed doors.”
Source
The White House has turned down an offer by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to meet with President Obama later this month, U.S. and Israeli officials confirmed to Fox News.
Though the White House is citing scheduling conflicts, the chilly reception is sure to be seen as a snub among Israel’s biggest defenders – and it comes amid a state of heightened alert over Iran’s nuclear program and the possibility of Israeli action.
Sources said Netanyahu, though he plans to be in New York City during his brief stay, was offering to travel to D.C. to make the meeting happen. However, the White House apparently said Obama’s tight schedule – the president is in the middle of a feverish campaign run -- would make a meeting difficult.
White House spokesman Tommy Vietor later confirmed to Fox News that Obama is not expected to meet with Netanyahu, though insisted it was just a scheduling problem. He said Obama will be at the United Nations on Sept. 24 and leave the following day, while Netanyahu won’t be in the city until later in the week.
“They're simply not in the city at the same time,” Vietor said.
He also said Netanyahu and Obama are in “frequent contact,” and that Netanyahu has instead been offered meetings with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other top officials.
In addition, a senior administration official told Fox News that the president will be addressing the U.N. General Assembly and the Clinton Global Initiative when in New York. But he will not be having one-on-one meetings with world leaders so this should not be seen as a snub of Netanyahu.
But the turn-down comes amid increasing international anxiety about Iran’s nuclear program. The U.N. reportedly has found new intelligence showing Iran is moving toward nuclear weapon capability.
And the exchange between the White House and the prime minister’s office is the most recent in what is seen as a cool, if not strained, relationship between Obama and Netanyahu, despite Israel being considered one of the United State’s closest allies.
“I’m astounded that (Obama) cannot find the time,” former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton said. “I don’t see it so much as a snub as a horrible, substantive mistake in American foreign policy.”
One well-placed Jewish-American leader told Fox News that the White House has not yet fully ruled out moving things around on the schedule to accommodate Netanyahu. But as of now, Obama is scheduled to be on the campaign trail during the window of time when Netanyahu can make it to Washington.
“Discussions are ongoing,” the source emphasized.
Asked about relations between the two men, the source acknowledged they “are not warm and fuzzy” and that there is “a lot of tension” between the two governments, given the gravity of the issues under consideration. But overall, the source said the alliance remains strong, particularly in terms of military-to-military cooperation, and even in day-to-day interactions “up to and including the prime minister.”
Republicans were quick, though, to pounce on the news.
“We are surprised and disappointed by reports that the White House has denied a request from Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to meet with President Obama while he is visiting the United States,” said Republican Sens. John McCain, Ariz., and Lindsey Graham, S.C. “If these reports are true, the White House's decision sends a troubling signal to our ally Israel about America's commitment at this dangerous and challenging time, especially as Iran continues to work actively toward developing a nuclear weapons capability.”
Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, tweeted: “How ironic that the #POTUS has time for high dollar $40K-a-head fundraiser with @JayZ and @Beyonce but not for the PM of Israel.”
The prime minister’s office told the White House that Netanyahu’s official visit will be short, starting on a Thursday and ending at sundown Friday because of the Sabbath.
He is staying in the U.S. through Sunday. One Israeli source said he “wouldn’t be surprised if things changed” regarding a meeting by the time Netanyahu arrives.
Netanyahu will still travel to speak at the United Nations headquarters.
Earlier on Tuesday, Netanyahu launched an unprecedented critique of the U.S. government and others over their stance on the Iranian nuclear program, according to the English-language news site Haaretz.
"The world tells Israel 'wait, there's still time,’” the site quotes Netanyahu as saying. “And I say, 'Wait for what? Wait until when?' Those in the international community who refuse to put red lines before Iran don't have a moral right to place a red light before Israel."
Obama has increased economic sanctions on Iran but has yet to define the so-called “red line” -- which, should Iran cross it, would theoretically result in military action.
"Now if Iran knows that there is no red line … what will it do?” Netanyahu asked Tuesday. “Exactly what it's doing. It's continuing, without any interference, towards obtaining nuclear weapons capability and from there, nuclear bombs."
Democrats upset Israel supporters last week when they removed language in the party platform that acknowledged Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
The president, though, had the words re-inserted and said in his acceptance speech that the country’s commitment to Israel's security “must not waver.”
“And neither must our pursuit of peace,” he continued.
Source
Obama's foreign policy is very simple: Destroy the
Oh yes. We are at fault at this. A group of Christians made a movie critical of Muhammad (MHBIH). Too bad! In this nation we are free to make films about any one, any subject. Deal with it!
And this just in, Ambassador to Libya J. Christopher Stevens and 3 staff members were killed when a rocket fired at the US Embassy in Libya,
The U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other American staff members were killed Tuesday in an attack on the U.S. consulate in the Libyan city of Benghazi, the White House confirmed. President Obama, in a written statement issued Wednesday morning, called the attack "outrageous" and "senseless."Monkey in the Middle and its contributors send our condolences to the families of those murdered. Another example of the "Religion of Peace".
Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens was killed Tuesday night when he and a group of embassy employees went to the consulate to try to evacuate staff. The protesters, angry over a film that ridiculed Islam's Prophet Muhammad, were firing gunshots and rocket-propelled grenades.
"I strongly condemn the outrageous attack on our diplomatic facility in Benghazi, which took the lives of four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens," President Obama said in a statement Wednesday morning. "Right now, the American people have the families of those we lost in our thoughts and prayers. They exemplified America's commitment to freedom, justice, and partnership with nations and people around the globe, and stand in stark contrast to those who callously took their lives."
The president is expected to address the tragedy from the Rose Garden at 10:35 a.m. ET.
Obama, in his statement, said he's directed the administration to provide "all necessary resources" to support security for U.S. personnel in Libya and to increase security at diplomatic offices around the world. One U.S. official said a team of 50 Marines is being deployed to Benghazi to secure the compound.
"While the United States rejects efforts to denigrate the religious beliefs of others, we must all unequivocally oppose the kind of senseless violence that took the lives of these public servants," Obama said.
Obama called Stevens "a courageous and exemplary representative of the United States" who "selflessly served our country and the Libyan people" throughout the Libyan revolution.
"His legacy will endure wherever human beings reach for liberty and justice," the president said.
The State Department identified one of the other three Americans killed as Foreign Service Information Management Officer Sean Smith, a husband and father of two who had worked for the State Department for 10 years. The U.S. government is still notifying the next of kin for the other two individuals killed, and has not identified them.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton described Stevens as a passionate and dedicated diplomat who had devoted himself to the transition in post-Qaddafi Libya.
"As the conflict in Libya unfolded, Chris was one of the first Americans on the ground in Benghazi. He risked his own life to lend the Libyan people a helping hand to build the foundation for a new, free nation," she said.
Stevens was appointed as ambassador to Libya in May 2012.
He served as a special representative to the Libyan Transitional National Council during the revolution in 2011, and as the deputy chief of mission from 2007 to 2009. Originally from California, Stevens was an international trade lawyer before joining the Foreign Service in the early 1990s. He also served as a volunteer in the Peace Corps from 1983 to 1985, teaching English in Morocco.
U.S. officials remain on alert for violence at other diplomatic posts.
Hours before the Benghazi attack, hundreds of mainly ultraconservative Islamist protesters in Egypt marched to the U.S. Embassy in downtown Cairo, gathering outside its walls and chanting against the movie and the U.S. Most of the embassy staff had left the compound earlier because of warnings of the upcoming demonstration.
Dozens of protesters then scaled the embassy walls, and several went into the courtyard and took down the American flag from a pole.
They brought it back to the crowd outside, which tried to burn it, but failing that tore it apart. The protesters on the wall then raised on the flagpole a black flag with a Muslim declaration of faith, "There is no god but God and Muhammad is his prophet." The flag, similar to the banner used by Al Qaeda, is commonly used by ultraconservatives around the region.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Embassy in Algiers was warning Americans in the country to avoid non-essential travel amid calls for more protests after the Libya attack.
If we had a President who was proud of this nation, who had the balls to defend her, to kick some Muslim ass, to stop all funds to Egypt, these assholes would never even try a stunt like this. But we are cursed with Barack Hussein Obama, who will bow to every dictator in the world and is channeling his inner Chamberlain. G-d help us!
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