by John M. Curtis
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Copyright February 2, 2015
All Rights Reserved.

                   Calling U.S.-Israeli relations the worst in his lifetime, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) highlighted deep problems President Barack Obama has with Congress.  Getting off on the wrong foot from the get-go, Obama let former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) push Obamacare, souring his relationships with Republican members of Congress.  When Barack signed the Affordable Care Act into law March 23, 2010, he sealed his fate with the GOP on Capitol Hill.  While it?s easy for the White House to blame the GOP, Obama?s had plenty of chances to make up lost ground.  Only recently he could have thrown the GOP a bone passing the Keystone XL pipeline, bringing Canadian tar sands from Calgary, Canada to Houston, Texas.  Obama give the GOP little to make amends and turn a new leaf in the 2015 GOP dominated Congress.

             When House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin  ?Bibi? Netanyahu Jan. 21 to speak to a joint session of Congress March 3 without White House consent, he infuriated Democrats crying a breach-of-protocol.  Inviting Netanyahu without Obama?s consent mirrors how bad Obama?s relationships with the GOP Congress.  Railroading Obamacare without one Republican vote told the whole story how the president soured his relationship with Republicans in Congress.  ?It?s the worst that I?ve ever seen in my lifetime,? said McCain, referring to U.S.-Israeli relations.  Obama denies that he has a poor relationship with Tel Aviv, citing a host of common interests.  Barack?s attempt to press Israel into making dangerous national security concessions with Palestinians so he could ink a peace deal isn?t accepted by McCain or Congressional Republicans.

             Since Sept. 11, former President George W. Bush pivoted U.S.-Israeli relations, seeing Israel as an invaluable partner in the fight against Islamic terrorism.  Bush was the first America president to back Israel unconditionally, no longer pressuring Israel into a dangerous peace deal with Palestinians.  While pressuring Israel to make concessions for a peace deal, Obama hasn?t acknowledged that Israel has no peace partner, including Ramallah-based PLO Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.  On April 23, the PLO joined forces with Gaza?s Hamas militants sworn to Israel?s destruction.  Secretary of State John Kerry spent nearly a year pressuring Israel for a peace deal with a Palestinian peace partner sworn to Israel?s destruction.  ?The president had very unrealistic expectations about the degree of cooperation that he would get from Israel,? said McCain, citing the change in the PLO?s status.

             When McCain refers to the White House as ?unrealistic,? he?s talking about expecting Israeli to enter peace talks with the PLO-Hamas entity sworn to Israel?s destruction.  Netanyahu has spoken to the White House and State Department until he?s blue-in-the-face that Israel cannot enter a peace deal with a terrorist organization.  Recent remarks by White House spokesman Josh Earnest that the Taliban doesn?t qualify as a ?terrorist? organization also apply to Hamas.  Suicide attacks, roadside bombings and targeted assassinations of civilians define terrorism, not, as the White House suggests, political ambitions.  Hamas has ?noble? intentions when it blows Israelis up in Pizza parlors and busses, according to the White House.  No one?s killed more civilians in Afghanistan and Pakistan than the Taliban.  With off-the-wall statements like these, it?s no wonder Boehner bypassed the White House.

             Boehner wants Netanyahu to speak to a joint session of Congress to inform the American public about the rising tide of Islamic extremism.  Kerry recently advocated calling terrorist attacks ?violent extremism,? completely overlooking the source?and motives?for the attacks.  Taking responsibility for the Jan. 7 Charlie Hebdo massacre, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula [AQAP] leader Nasr al-Ansi blamed France?s attacks on the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.  Al-Ansi made it clear he speaks for radical Islam, not some other religious or terrorist group.  Why Kerry feels inclined to mince words about Islamic terrorism is anyone?s guess.  Bringing Netanyahu to Congress sets the record straight about the enemy faced by Israel, the U.S. and other Western powers.  When Earnest excused the Taliban from the terrorist label, the White House broke new ground in semantic smoke blowing.

             McCain and other conservatives on Capitol Hill understand the strategic role Israel plays to U.S. national security in the fight against Islamic extremism.  Disowning radical Islam?s attacks doesn't mean that using the Islamic extremism label is inappropriate.  All of the U.S.?s Western allies refer to Mideast-driven terror attacks, like Charlie Hebdo, as Islamic extremisms or terrorism.  Credit former President Bush for recognizing the only Israel has the U.S. back in its shadowy war against Islamic terrorism.  Pretending otherwise, or forcing Israel into a peace deal that compromises its national security, compromises U.S. national security.  U.S. and Foreign politicians that speak passionately about Palestinians rights forget about their street celebrations after Sept. 11.  Unlike conservative in Congress, the White House still maintains a pre-Sept. 11 mentality about the Palestinian question.

About the Author

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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