America In The Hands Of An Angry God?: U.S. rejects Netanyahu meeting request: Israel official
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America In
The Hands Of An Angry God?: U.S. rejects Netanyahu meeting
request: Israel official
By Jeffrey Heller | Reuters
Editors Note: Have you been wise enough to notice that every time
the United States of America takes a stand against Israel, in
thought, word or deed, that Almighty God allows a wave of major
disasters to come upon the country? Hence we need to ask the
question, Is America in the Hands Of An Angry God?
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - The White House has rejected a request by
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to meet President Barack Obama
in the United States this month, an Israeli official said on
Tuesday, after a row erupted between the allies over Iran's
nuclear programme.
An Israeli official told Reuters on condition of anonymity that
Netanyahu's aides had asked for a meeting when he visits the
United Nations this month, and "the White House has got back to us
and said it appears a meeting is not possible. It said that the
president's schedule will not permit that".
Netanyahu, who has met Obama on all his U.S. trips since 2009, has
been pushing him to adopt a tougher line against Iran.
He argues that setting a clear boundary for Iran's uranium
enrichment activities and imposing stronger economic sanctions
could deter Tehran from developing nuclear weapons and mitigate
the need for military action.
In comments that appeared to bring the possibility of an Israeli
attack on Iran closer, Netanyahu had earlier taken Washington to
task for rebuffing his call to set a "red line" for Iran's nuclear
programme, which has already prompted four rounds of U.N.
sanctions.
"The world tells Israel 'wait, there's still time'. And I say,
'Wait for what? Wait until when?'" said Netanyahu, speaking in
English.
"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," he added, addressing a news conference with Bulgaria's
prime minister.
"UNPRECEDENTED ATTACK"
The website of Israel's daily newspaper Haaretz called his words
"an unprecedented verbal attack on the U.S. government".
Iran makes no secret of its hostility to Israel, widely assumed to
be the region's only nuclear-armed power, but says its nuclear
programme is purely peaceful.
Netanyahu's relations with Obama have been strained over Iran and
other issues, such as Jewish settlement building in the occupied
West Bank.
But he has never framed his differences with Obama - who has
pledged he will "always have Israel's back" and is deep in a
re-election campaign - in moral terms.
Republican challenger Mitt Romney has accused Obama of throwing
Israel "under the bus".
Netanyahu's comments followed U.S. Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton's remarks on Monday that the United States would not set a
deadline in further talks with Iran, and that there was still time
for diplomacy to work.
Diplomats have also said six world powers - including the United
States - are poised to voice "serious concern" about Iran's
uranium enrichment programme and to urge it to open up access to
nuclear sites.
U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said on Tuesday that
Washington would have little more than a year to act to stop Iran
if it decided to produce a nuclear weapon.
Iran has threatened to retaliate against Israel and U.S. interests
in the Gulf if it is attacked, and any such conflict could throw
Obama's re-election bid off course.
DEADLINE
Netanyahu did not mention Clinton by name but pointedly parroted
her use of the word "deadline", saying:
"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 a nuclear weapons capability and
from there, nuclear bombs ...
"So far we can say with certainty that diplomacy and sanctions
haven't worked. The sanctions have hurt the Iranian economy but
they haven't stopped the Iranian nuclear programme. That's a fact.
And the fact is that every day that passes, Iran gets closer and
closer to nuclear bombs."
Recent tougher Israeli rhetoric has stoked speculation that Israel
might attack Iran before the U.S. election in November, believing
that Obama would be forced to give it military help to avoid
alienating pro-Israeli voters.
But over the past week, Netanyahu, in calling for a "red line",
had appeared to be backing away from military action and preparing
the ground for a possible meeting with Obama.
Opinion polls suggest that a majority of Israelis do not want
their military to strike Iran without U.S. support.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak seemed to criticize Netanyahu's
assault on the Jewish state's biggest ally.
"Despite the differences and importance of maintaining Israel's
independence of action, we must remember the importance of
partnership with the United States and try as much as possible not
to hurt that," a statement from his office said.