Netanyahu rushes to mend ties with Obama after seeming to back Romney in U.S. election
President Obama meets Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, March, 5, 2012, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. / AP
JERUSALEM Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is rushing to repair ties with President Obama after sharp disagreements during the past four years over Iran and the Palestinians.
When the U.S. election results were announced, Netanyahu immediately summoned U.S. Ambassador Dan Shapiro to his office in Jerusalem.
"The security relationship between the United States and Israel is rock solid," Netanyahu said with the ambassador at his side, "and I look forward to working with President Obama to further strengthen this relationship and ... to advance our goals of peace and security."
But analysts and politicians see a rocky road ahead.
They say Netanyahu, who has had a tense relationship with Mr. Obama and who was seen as openly supporting Mitt Romney, bet on the wrong horse; and now Mr. Obama may be less sympathetic to Israel's interests.
- Iran to hold massive air defense drills
- Israel to go ahead with settlement expansion
- Netanyahu: "Israel is ready" to strike Iran
"It seems like it is not such a good morning for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu," said Israeli Cabinet Minister Eli Yishai, commenting on Mr. Obama's victory.
The lack of chemistry between Netanyahu and President Obama has been widely reported and has provided fodder for the Israel's political opposition.
"I think that a prime minister in Israel should not do two things: He does not interfere in the elections in the U.S. and he does not gamble on one of the candidates," said opposition leader Shaul Mofaz. "This definitely caused damage."
With President Obama facing few political constraints in the next four years, Israel fears it will not get crucial U.S. support on two key issues: its vehement opposition to the Palestinians' bid for statehood recognition at the U.N. General Assembly later this month, and Iran's alleged quest for an atomic bomb.
Israeli officials worry that Mr. Obama will simply stretch out what they see as fruitless negotiations with Iran - possibly prompting Israel to carry out its longtime threat of a preemptive strike on the Islamic Republic's nuclear facilities.
- Nuclear Iran: Sites and potential targets
- Israel to go ahead with settlement expansion
- Netanyahu: "Israel is ready" to strike Iran
That could happen as early as next summer, when Israel believes Iran will cross the "red line" of a nuclear weapons capability. Iran's leader has threatened to wipe the Jewish state "off the map," and Israel sees an Iranian nuclear weapon as an existential threat.
"The context is the same context, with an America that is incredibly wary of military involvement, and an Israel for whom time is running out," The Times of Israel editor David Horovitz told Israel Television.
Other analysts, however, say the "lack of chemistry" between the two leaders is mostly a creation of the media and that the issue of a nuclear Iran is far too threatening and too much of a mutual interest to be derailed by personal vendettas.
With that in mind, Israel is determined to get the all-important ties with its guardian ally back on track. But smoothing over differences and finding common ground will put Netanyahu's astute diplomatic skills to the test.
By CBS Radio News correspondent Robert Berger
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Rather, the line in the sand is drawn by Israel, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Turkey, a NATO member which is facing multiple threats with Syria and the Kurdish movement, against a Nuclear Iran.
Iran has a BIG problem when it is bombed by Israeli aircraft guided by Saudi Arabian Awacs and guarded by Turkish aircraft from fields in Kuwait and Qatar with the US fleet just outside of the strait of Hormuz in reserve. While watching the US with no air activity....they will lose their
nuclear capability in one short day. Thank you.
Iran cannot strike back at such a multiple nation effort nor strike the US
without negative consequences overall after the fact. Then, negotiation is more than likely since there is no 'golden egg' of nuclear stockpile or processing center for high yield unranium processing.
If israel wants continued status as the only US supported welfare state in the ME, he better pucker-up.
Let's hope the new State of Palestine it soon greeted by the whole world!
Bombing Iran will not resolve the problem. It may delay the development of nuclear weapons but will not stop it. If you are going to attack a country with bomb you need to be prepared to put troops on the ground to finish the job. I am not sure Israel itself has enough ground troops available to succeed in an invasion of Iran. The USA is wary of engaging in another ground war in the mid east. That does not mean we would never again enter into such a conflict. It means we will be much more careful so as to not repeat the mistakes made in Iraq.