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Senior Obama official: Bibi Netanyahu is “chickenshit”

Senior Obama official: Bibi Netanyahu is “chickenshit”

The crisis is in Obama-Israel relations, not U.S.-Israel relations.

Jeffrey Goldberg writing in The Atlantic, The Crisis in U.S.-Israel Relations Is Officially Here:

The other day I was talking to a senior Obama administration official about the foreign leader who seems to frustrate the White House and the State Department the most. “The thing about Bibi is, he’s a chickenshit,” this official said, referring to the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, by his nickname.

This comment is representative of the gloves-off manner in which American and Israeli officials now talk about each other behind closed doors, and is yet another sign that relations between the Obama and Netanyahu governments have moved toward a full-blown crisis. The relationship between these two administrations— dual guarantors of the putatively “unbreakable” bond between the U.S. and Israel—is now the worst it’s ever been, and it stands to get significantly worse after the November midterm elections. By next year, the Obama administration may actually withdraw diplomatic cover for Israel at the United Nations, but even before that, both sides are expecting a showdown over Iran, should an agreement be reached about the future of its nuclear program.

The fault for this breakdown in relations can be assigned in good part to the junior partner in the relationship, Netanyahu, and in particular, to the behavior of his cabinet. Netanyahu has told several people I’ve spoken to in recent days that he has “written off” the Obama administration, and plans to speak directly to Congress and to the American people should an Iran nuclear deal be reached. For their part, Obama administration officials express, in the words of one official, a “red-hot anger” at Netanyahu for pursuing settlement policies on the West Bank, and building policies in Jerusalem, that they believe have fatally undermined Secretary of State John Kerry’s peace process.

This has been a long-time coming.

Obama and John Kerry have a vision that makes the Palestinians the center of the Middle East universe even though everything on the ground from North Africa to Yemen to Syria to Iraq says otherwise.

Because of the view, Obama on down in the administration desire peace at any cost, even if it is at best a temporary peace that redivides Jerusalem and puts Hamas within mortar range of the Tel Aviv suburbs, and turns the West Bank into an Iranian base of operations.

Elaborating further, Goldberg writes:

“The good thing about Netanyahu is that he’s scared to launch wars,” the official said, expanding the definition of what a chickenshit Israeli prime minister looks like. “The bad thing about him is that he won’t do anything to reach an accommodation with the Palestinians or with the Sunni Arab states. The only thing he’s interested in is protecting himself from political defeat. He’s not [Yitzhak] Rabin, he’s not [Ariel] Sharon, he’s certainly no [Menachem] Begin. He’s got no guts.”

I ran this notion by another senior official who deals with the Israel file regularly. This official agreed that Netanyahu is a “chickenshit” on matters related to the comatose peace process, but added that he’s also a “coward” on the issue of Iran’s nuclear threat.

I don’t think there is a crisis in U.S.-Israel relations, but one in Obama-Israel relations.

Goldberg assesses that “[b]y next year, the Obama administration may actually withdraw diplomatic cover for Israel at the United Nations.”

That’s something I have been anticipating for years — it’s the hammer Obama has over Israel’s head to abandon Israel to the U.N. wolves. It would be more damaging to Israel than withholding weapons or military aid.

Mahmoud Abbas must sense the same thing, as he’s said that early next year he will seek a U.N. Security Council resolution forcing a full Israeli withdrawal to the indefensible 1949 Armistice lines (often called the pre-1967 lines). Maybe Mahmoud knows something the rest of us don’t; perhaps that same Senior Obama Official has been whispering in his ear.

The American people and virtually all of Congress know who is right here, and it’s not Obama-Kerry-Rice.

Whatever else he is, Bibi is not chickenshit.

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Comments

Netanyahu is in no way the junior partner in the relationship, although his country is unfortunately much less powerful than the United States.

Obama isn’t fit to kiss Netanyahu’s…shoe soles.

    TrooperJohnSmith in reply to mariner. | October 29, 2014 at 5:58 pm

    While Barry Soetero never had to defend his nation from its enemies.

    Bibi is a freakin warrior. His brother was killed on the Entebbe Raid. He literally and figuratively has skin in the fuc*ing game!

    Obama just has his ego and his manufactured biography.

    Bibi = Alpha-Alpha-Alpha Male
    Barry = Super-Beta Male

I take this as a sign that this administration vastly mistakes Netanyahu. I can think of words an observant enemy might call him, but “chickensh!t” is not one of them.

This kind of comment does not merely make us look crude: it makes us look stupid.

The irony of President “Red Line” calling (even via an anonymous surrogate) another leader “chickenshit” is apparently lost on the Obama throne sniffers.

You can always count on The Atlanta for a few good guffaws. My favorite line: “…fatally undermined Secretary of State John Kerry’s peace process.”

Kerry’s “peace process” was undermined by the fact that he is a fucking moron. Nothing more, nothing less.

Humphrey's Executor | October 28, 2014 at 6:40 pm

Our nation is being run by idiots.

If it wasn’t already iced before, this should put the butter-cream on the cake.

Bibi is too smart and mature to take this personally, but this isn’t a mere slip. This was a backhanded back-channeled message from Barracula and the Obami.

The right thing for Israel to do now is just shine Pres. ScamWOW on, and deal with the American people, their Congress, and anyone he thinks might fill the mT chair at the White House.

    Not A Member of Any Organized Political in reply to Ragspierre. | October 28, 2014 at 9:56 pm

    Methinks the Israeli security agencies may have a particularly nasty virus to share with Ebola Obama’s personal Blackberry phone.

    You know. His personal cell phone that he refused to stop using – when he is supposed to be using the secured secret services issued phone from the CIA and FBI.

Obama braved the Punahou School, where the lobster fra diavolo was sometimes bland.

Take that Bibi.

It galls me that such a morally and ethically bankrupt person has the nerve to call Netanyahu that epithet.

The only “chickensh*t” at the table is that provided by this administration in both foreign and domestic policy.

Wait a minute let me get this straight. The Israeli commando who parachuted into Entebbe is “chicken shit?” A “coward?” “Afraid?”

Of what? Obama?

Chickens and their shit are not afraid of Obama.

    Not A Member of Any Organized Political in reply to Trooper York. | October 28, 2014 at 9:50 pm

    YEAH!

    How many years did Ebola Obama serve in the military (the U.S. one)!?

    ConradCA in reply to Trooper York. | October 29, 2014 at 6:23 am

    Bibi didn’t parachute. It was his brother who led the attack and was the only on killed. They didn’t parachute, they landed a plane.

    TrooperJohnSmith in reply to Trooper York. | October 29, 2014 at 6:02 pm

    Son, ain’t nobody parachuted into Entebbe. They rode in on C-130s in one of the most logistically difficult missions ever planned. But yes, he was with the Golani Parachute Brigade, whose members routinely eat stones, live scorpions and expended brass.

Chickenshit, noun: A petty, contemptible, cowardly person. A low-ranking officer who bullies subordinates.

Benjamin Netanyahu clearly does not fit that definition, but both Kerry and Obama do.

I find nothing inconsistent in the view that Netanyahu is a jerk and Obama is simply dangerous to Israel successfully fending off threats to its peace and existence. Netanyahu being a jerk does not mean the Palestinian leaders are better or preferable or should win, but Netanyahu is, nonetheless, a jerk, it’s how he works, it’s how he is. No point sugar coating it. And he knows which side he’s on, which is infinitely preferable to a softie who doesn’t.

    the word used was “chickenshit” not “jerk”

    or have you progs changed the meaning of one of those words and we didn”t get the memo?

      Please don’t put other people’s idiot words in my mouth. I’m making a point because it’s worth making, and I’m not defending this idiocy – even if that’s what they honestly believe, we’re only seeing it because a conscious choice was made to “leak” it, or rather blast it out of a fire hose all over the media.

      There are valid reasons to criticize Netanyahu. Frankly the whole Gaza thing was the first real conflict he’s been in as a political leader, and no he hasn’t exactly gone guns blazing into Iran. I just find it remarkable (and stupid!) for the WH to taunt him over it. He lost his brother in the special forces. I respect his valuing the lives of men and women other arms. Liberals have started much more armed conflicts since Rabin’s assassination.

      As I said, my point is, there IS NO CONFLICT between not nominating Netanyahu for sainthood and finding the White House to be horrible, no-good, really bad as for Israel’s safety and survival, exemplified by this very spectacle.

    TrooperJohnSmith in reply to JBourque. | October 29, 2014 at 6:04 pm

    Channeling Tom Cruise, are we?

Obama is free to do anything in the middle east he wishes but, in the end, Israel will survive by whatever means are necessary. They have no choice.

American support for Israel is the best way to avoid a full out nuclear attack but, in the end, Israel will survive by whatever means are necessary. They have no choice.

Differences of opinion are a fact of life. Differing approaches are understandable. Searching and working for differing outcomes happens. However, all are seriously flawed in Obama and among his administration and die hard supporters. They have brought this country, domestically and internationally, in all of life’s endeavors to the point where it is difficult to believe that any sound organization, country, or serious leader of any of them, friend or foe, can see this group as anything more than third rate, cliché droppers who take nothing seriously, not least their own country. Now they demonstrate an ability to do it with no class.

Notice there is no talk of the huge explosions at Iran’s military base that destroyed several bunkers? Everyone has been tight lipped about that, Was it an Israeli attack that showed they could get to targets without having significant losses? Or was it an “accident”.

Obama is a pussy. Kerry is a coward and traitor. Having this mis-administration calling anyone “chickenshit” is priceless.

Trapped in Davis | October 28, 2014 at 11:20 pm

I find it confusing that they find Bibi’s refusal to launch a war chicken$hit. Wasn’t Dear Leader’s refusal to vote for the Iraq war considered moral and courageous? Just what war does he want Bibi to launch? They apparently want Israel to start a war so the rest of the world can condemn them and take the blame off the Obamai.

Ed Driscoll at PJM has a 2008 quote from Goldberg, also in The Atlantic, accusing those doubting Obama’s pro-Israel bona fides as racists.

So, the worm turns? Or is calling a twice-wounded IDF commando (the equivalent of our SF or Seals) a ‘chickenshit’ too much for even a liberal Jewish Democratic hack to bear?

If that’s how we treat our friends, nobody will want to be our friend.

Bibi might be is chickensh-t in these deranged peoples’ eyes, but in the eyes of America and the rest of the world, Obama is human sh-t.

Boehner, McConnell and Prebus are just chickens.

What a state of affairs.

When I read Goldberg’s article yesterday I was especially angered by this administration’s taunting of Israel regarding Iran’s nuclear bomb, a very serious threat. Israel cannot act unilaterally with Iran’s program at this stage of development and the administration’s threat to isolate Israel in the UN is just horrible as this is obviously what is going to happen next year if this administration gets its way. But at the same time I am wondering how much attention one should give this article. In some ways there is nothing new here, it is already clear from Obama’s actions that he is hostile to Israel. The article itself is a classic case of what Jews call “lashon hara”, loosely translated as “evil tongue”. It is pure malicious, anonymous gossip with a destructive intent. Gossip is considered damaging to all those who participate in it, the peddler, the listener and any bystanders. Nothing good can come of it and it is a serious sin. So for the sake of sanity I’ve decided to stop worrying so much – hoping that Obama does not represent America and trusting that the American public can rise above government by gossip.

Wonder who the senior official was, maybe the dude Tommy Vietor, that visionary employed by Obama to explain the complexities of
foreign affairs attempted by this administration.

Obama digs at Netanyahu from behind an anonymous leak and it’s Netanyahu who’s the chickenshit???

LOLOLOL

Bibi is pursuing a bunker mentality in the face of a U.S. administration determined to undermine Israel at every turn? Wow, what a surprise. Prudence is the adult response in this case.

buckeyeminuteman | October 29, 2014 at 12:52 pm

Pot meet kettle.

Barack Hussein Obama’s administration has done nothing more than bully Israel into a tight corner, just like any muslim palestinian would.

Makes one start to wonder if Islamicists aren’t currently carrying out stealth jihad from the highest levels of the United States government.

Rashid Khalidi was a spokesperson for the PLO when the U.S. State Department declared them a terrorist organization. We can only imagine what Obama’s “blind spots” and “biases” were.

http://articles.latimes.com/2008/apr/10/nation/na-obamamideast10

ALLIES OF PALESTINIANS SEE A FRIEND IN OBAMA

… A special tribute came from Khalidi’s friend and frequent dinner companion, the young state Sen. Barack Obama. Speaking to the crowd, Obama reminisced about meals prepared by Khalidi’s wife, Mona, and conversations that had challenged his thinking.

His many talks with the Khalidis, Obama said, had been “consistent reminders to me of my own blind spots and my own biases. . . . It’s for that reason that I’m hoping that, for many years to come, we continue that conversation — a conversation that is necessary not just around Mona and Rashid’s dinner table,” but around “this entire world.”

Captain Keogh | October 29, 2014 at 2:59 pm

John Kerry “anonymously” called Binyamin Netanyahu (an ex-commando who lost a brother at Entebbe) “chickenshit” but would not go on the record. Who is the real “chickenshit”?