What Did the Obama-Netanyahu Meeting Achieve?
President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu came together in Washington on Tuesday, to mend what has been described as a rocky relationship in recent months.
You'd never know there was ever a rift though, as they spoke during their afternoon press conference in the Oval Office. The president mentioned the "extraordinary friendship" between both nations and Prime Minister Netanyahu praised the U.S. for implementing tougher sanctions against Iran that "actually have teeth."
On Tuesday's "Washington Unplugged," CBS News White House Correspondent Mark Knoller said, "Above all else what we got from President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu are assertions that press reports of tension between them were totally a figment of our imagination."
After their meeting, Netanyahu said in the Oval Office that reports of any bad blood between both nations are "flat wrong".
Robert Danin of the Council on Foreign Relations' told host John Dickerson that "the core relationship has been solid."
"That said, there really have been tensions in the bilateral relationship at the highest levels between the president and the prime minister," he added. "They clearly have different priorities, they don't seem to have a great chemistry, at least what we've seen until today. There was some tension there and this was clearly an effort to put that behind them."
Dickerson asked Danin about the potential significance of their meeting not just for relations between the U.S and Israel but for the Middle East as a whole. Would it hold any weight or was it all for show?
Danin responded, "This kind of step is important, it is substantive. It isn't just about two people pandering to domestic audiences. It's actually about two countries, two allies, two friends coming together and trying to put away any myths or misconceptions that they are not getting along so they can get down to real business."
Knoller added that he believed their sentiments during the press conference were "genuine." Knoller said, "They have certainly put to rest the notion that there is a strained relationship. That Obama and Netanyahu can work together. They seemed cordial, they shook hands they smiled at one another."
Watch the full discussion on Tuesday's "Washington Unplugged" above.
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"Washington Unplugged," CBSNews.com's exclusive daily politics Webshow, appears live on CBSNews.com each weekday at 2 p.m. ET. Click here to check out previous episodes.
