Althouse: "Over the years, Obama administration officials have described Netanyahu to me as recalcitrant, myopic, reactionary, obtuse, blustering, pompous, and 'Aspergery.'"

October 28, 2014

"Over the years, Obama administration officials have described Netanyahu to me as recalcitrant, myopic, reactionary, obtuse, blustering, pompous, and 'Aspergery.'"

"(These are verbatim descriptions; I keep a running list.) But I had not previously heard Netanyahu described as a 'chickenshit.'"

From a Jeffrey Goldberg article in The Atlantic titled "The Crisis in U.S.-Israel Relations Is Officially Here." Subtitle: "The Obama administration's anger is 'red-hot' over Israel's settlement policies, and the Netanyahu government openly expresses contempt for Obama's understanding of the Middle East. Profound changes in the relationship may be coming."

50 comments:

PB said...: I hope profound changes in who sits in the Oval Office are coming.; 10/28/14, 4:39 PM
Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer by this son of New York said...: Chickenshit to face annihilation in order to conform to the rules of BHO's moral universe.; 10/28/14, 4:39 PM
Michael K said...: The Obama administration is run by a clique of teenaged boys. Not very intelligent ones, either. They don;t understand Netanyahu because he has never been interested in being Prom King.; 10/28/14, 4:42 PM
chuck said...: No better enemy, no worse friend. US foreign policy in a nutshell.; 10/28/14, 4:46 PM
Anonymous said...: Michael K, you're forgetting about the teenage girls.

I think they are the ones who run the show, since the boys are all a bunch of metrosexuals who couldn't stand up to a woman if it meant their lives.; 10/28/14, 4:46 PM
Michael said...: Netanyahu oozes competence in the same measure that Obama oozes bullshit. Netanyahu is twice the intellect.; 10/28/14, 4:49 PM
Saint Croix said...: Imagine being red hot angry at Israel. Israel! Of all the fucked up evil in the world, and it's Israel that burns your ass. You are an incompetent and evil shit, Barack Obama.; 10/28/14, 4:51 PM
Barry Dauphin said...: "Chickenshit"?

What a twerp that administration lackey must be. So courageous, he/she wouldn't even go on the record. That is the definition of chickenshit.; 10/28/14, 5:02 PM
viator said...: Benjamin Netanyahu joined the Israel Defense Forces during the Six-Day War in 1967, and became a team leader in the Sayeret Matkal special forces unit. He took part in many missions, including Operation Inferno (1968), Operation Gift (1968) and Operation Isotope (1972), during which he was shot in the shoulder. He fought on the front lines in the War of Attrition and the Yom Kippur War in 1973, taking part in special forces raids along the Suez Canal, and then leading a commando assault deep into Syrian territory. He achieved the rank of captain before being discharged.

Netanyahu

Netanyahu

Some chicken.; 10/28/14, 5:07 PM
Lnelson said...: Bibi a coward and a chickenshit?

I'd say that the cowards and chickenshits of this administration certainly know how to project.; 10/28/14, 5:11 PM
traditionalguy said...: Obama is kaput now because he defied the Abrahamic Covenant promise that "I will curse those who curse you."

The question is howuch of that curse will be

visited on the USA.; 10/28/14, 5:11 PM
Sebastian said...: Meanwhile, the organization whose very modus operandi is to commit war crimes -- firing rockets at civilian areas, from civilian areas -- does not cause any "red-hot anger" in Barry & Co.

There used to be a word for disproportionate disgust aimed at Jews.

Coming from Barry & Co., the accusation that Bibi cares only about domestic political survival is particularly laughable. What good is narcissism if you can't even look in the mirror?; 10/28/14, 5:13 PM
David said...: They forgot "Jewish." Perhaps it goes without saying?; 10/28/14, 5:15 PM
George M. Spencer said...: What a disturbing article.

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. “He’s not [Yitzhak] Rabin, he’s not [Ariel] Sharon, he’s certainly no [Menachem] Begin. He’s got no guts.”

He’s also a “coward” on the issue of Iran’s nuclear threat. “It’s too late for him to do anything. Two, three years ago, this was a possibility. But ultimately he couldn’t bring himself to pull the trigger. It was a combination of our pressure and his own unwillingness to do anything dramatic. Now it’s too late.”

The feeling now is that Bibi’s bluffing,” this second official said. “He’s not Begin at Osirak,” the official added, referring to the successful 1981 Israeli Air Force raid ordered by the ex-prime minister on Iraq’s nuclear reactor.

If anything, it sounds like Netanyahu's the one with guts, and the U.S. is "chickenshit" for not backing him.

Since we don't think he's going to strike Iran, that means he probably will.; 10/28/14, 5:15 PM
Scott said...: Calling Netanyahu, or anybody, "Aspergery" is glib and pseudointellectual. It's so Obama.

The State of Israel was created by American Jews. Why not just say to hell with it and make it the 51st state? Then we could justify defending it.; 10/28/14, 5:20 PM
Revenant said...: Imagine being red hot angry at Israel. Israel! Of all the fucked up evil in the world, and it's Israel that burns your ass.

Well, they ARE the second-largest recipients of US foreign aid (after Afghanistan). It is sort of like how having the kid you're putting through college call you a money-hungry fascist will make you angrier than hearing the same thing from some random schmuck at Think Progress.

I've always been a fan of Israel, but I would still suggest that if they don't like the way the US government conducts itself, they should return the money.; 10/28/14, 5:27 PM
NotWhoIUsedtoBe said...: I doubt they'll be profound changes. More like making it through to January 20, 2017.; 10/28/14, 5:39 PM
Humperdink said...: "I will bless them that bless thee and will curse them that curse thee."

And we wonder why the US is sinking like a boat anchor. Actually some of us do not wonder.; 10/28/14, 5:40 PM
George M. Spencer said...: Revenant--

An op-ed in today's WSJ makes clear that the $3B Israel gets in US aid is less than one percent of its GDP.

"Like some boorish husband of yore fond of boasting that he brings home the bacon, the administration thinks it's the senior partner in the marriage. Except this wife can now pay her own bills. And she never ate bacon to begin with."

Anyway, history will record that the worst and most dangerous thing Obama has done is cozy up to Iran.; 10/28/14, 5:47 PM
William said...: Well, who can blame them. After being subjected to a charm offensive by Assad and his lovely wife, other mortals just seem drab and uninteresting. And King Faisal. Such a card. Qaddafi opted for early retirement, but there was a man who filled up the room. In such company, Benjie is like a sparrow among bluebirds.; 10/28/14, 5:52 PM
JRH, esq. said...: There sure are some changes coming. In slightly more than 2 years.

I think other nations have figured out that they can simply wait out an outgoing administration, and thanks to Barry's hibris, now other nations know that the US will not maintain continuity in its policies and will blow in the electoral wind. Best not get too attached, or take risky positions based on US promises. Just ask a slightly smaller Ukraine.; 10/28/14, 5:53 PM
NotWhoIUsedtoBe said...: Long term, Israel is going to be the ally of some great power. It's just too powerful to be ignored.

It could have been a Soviet client if history had been a little different. Israel could be a Chinese ally in the future. Israel is not a Western country and does not have to have Western allies. A cursory look at Israeli economic and military power makes this obvious.

Good American foreign policy finds a way to use Israel to our advantage. Bad policy ensures that we can't do anything in the Middle East without doing it ourselves.; 10/28/14, 6:13 PM
Browndog said...: Netanyahu is a man of many skills. Not the least of which are political.

Imagine your greatest ally turns on you--aids your enemies that seek your utter annihilation, insult you, lie about you--

Yet, you take it. You take it because the very life of your country and it's citizens demand prudence, patience, and hope-

Hope, that you're not nuked or attacked by any and all means before the boy-child in the Oval Office is replaced.

That's one helluva way to live.; 10/28/14, 6:16 PM
Paul said...: "After graduating from high school in 1967, Netanyahu returned to Israel to enlist in the IDF.

He trained as a combat soldier and became a team leader in an elite special forces unit of the IDF, Sayeret Matkal.

He took part in numerous cross-border assault raids during the 1969–70 War of Attrition.

He was involved in many other missions, including Operation Inferno (1968), and the rescue of the hijacked Sabena Flight 571 in May 1972 in which he was shot in the shoulder".

Netanyahu is 10x the man Obama is, or any man on Obama's staff. To fail to respect such a man is the hallmark of a pathetic politician who is mad they can't get their way.; 10/28/14, 6:22 PM
MadisonMan said...: Israel could be a Chinese ally in the future. Israel is not a Western country and does not have to have Western allies.

Are there many Jews in China? Doesn't the shear number of Jews in the USA help drive the Israel/US alliance?

I'm always curious, when I see stories like Goldberg's: What is driving the anonymous sources within to put forth their quotes?

'Red-hot anger'; 'written off' the Obama administration. Why say such things? To prove your own worth to a "journalist"

I should add that chickenshit is a wonderful fertilizer.; 10/28/14, 6:49 PM
clint said...: Iran is trying to develop nuclear weapons. Iranian leaders have said they intend to nuke Israel, and will not be deterred by the possibility of a nuclear response.

Netanyahu takes them at their word.

How twisted does your worldview have to be to see that as cowardice?

Was JFK a coward over nukes in Cuba??

*facepalm*; 10/28/14, 7:15 PM
Lucien said...: SO there is "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."

OF course it's Kerry's peace process. The point is not to accommodate the interests of the parties actually involved in the dispute, it's to aggrandize the ego of the mediator.

How is Kerry ever gonna get his Nobel Peace Price unless the Israelis play ball.

This must be this administration's version of American Exceptionalism.; 10/28/14, 7:38 PM
Michael K said...: "Michael K, you're forgetting about the teenage girls.

I think they are the ones who run the show, since the boys are all a bunch of metrosexuals who couldn't stand up to a woman if it meant their lives."

No, I'm thinking of the prep school female teachers who sucked all the sense out of those boys while f**king their brains out. Literally.; 10/28/14, 7:43 PM
Michael K said...: " if they don't like the way the US government conducts itself, they should return the money."

Sure, the only trustworthy ally we have in that part of the world should be cut off. When Bibi makes his deal with Putin and Israel is the brains of the Russian defense industry and they are beating our brains out competing for military contracts around the world, this will look really smart,; 10/28/14, 7:48 PM
Michael K said...: "Are there many Jews in China? Doesn't the shear number of Jews in the USA help drive the Israel/US alliance?"

Have you ever heard the Chinese described as "The Jews of the Orient?"

They share many characteristics and get along just fine. The only reason China even has peaceful relations with Muslim countries is oil. They and the Israelis share enemies as well as characteristics. Maybe the Israelis can teach the Chinese to frack.; 10/28/14, 7:52 PM
Joe said...: Okay, from reading the article it's clear that what pisses Obama off is that Netanyahu isn't getting Israel to act like a silent proxy of the US, much like Cuba used to do for the Soviet Union.

That said, Netanyahu is being a bit of a chickenshit in dealing with Israel's far right wing (especially the ultra-orthodox), but so have ALL Israeli prime ministers.; 10/28/14, 7:57 PM
n.n said...: Obama is looking for a Jewish scapegoat.; 10/28/14, 8:06 PM
paminwi said...: So, I read the Instapundit blog post and noticed there was a sidebar from Twitchy. The top item listed was about this very subject.

Interesting comments and pictures, too!

http://twitchy.com/2014/10/28/whos-chickensht-again-after-bibi-smear-wh-spanked-with-cold-truth-photos/; 10/28/14, 8:30 PM
Jon Burack said...: Profound changes in the relationship are coming, alright. In January 2017. No future president, Democrat or Republican, is going to mangle the relationship with Israel as this president has. What is infuriating about the fact that he has is that he has done absolutely NOTHING to explain why he has acted so destructively toward the one democracy and one dependable ally we have in that region. I am pretty sure, all this will be put to pasture on day one of the next admin.; 10/28/14, 9:31 PM
Anonymous said...: ""Over the years, Obama administration officials have described Netanyahu to me as recalcitrant, myopic, reactionary, obtuse, blustering, pompous..."". All those adjectives, plus many others, were used to describe Winston Churchill prior to WWII. And yeah, the Obamans are similar to WC's critics in other ways.; 10/28/14, 9:47 PM
MartyH said...: SO Bibi is called chickenshit by the Obama Administration for not attacking Iran unilaterally two to three years ago. But in December 2011 Eli Lake reported that the Obama Administration did not want Israel to strike Iran:
"The Obama administration is trying to assure Israel privately that it would strike Iran militarily if Tehran’s nuclear program crosses certain “red lines”—while attempting to dissuade the Israelis from acting unilaterally. Eli Lake reports exclusively."

"With Republicans lining up to court Jewish donors and voters in America in 2012, Obama faces a tricky election-year task of ensuring Iran doesn’t acquire a nuclear bomb on his watch while keeping the Israelis from launching a preemptive strike that could inflame an already teetering Middle East."

The problem isn't the chickenshit-it's the bullshit coming from the Administration.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/12/28/u-s-israel-discuss-triggers-for-bombing-iran-s-nuclear-infrastructure.html; 10/28/14, 9:49 PM
chillblaine said...: Projection is right. Calling Bibi a political coward. Every decision that Obama makes is focus-group tested and run by Valerie.

The clock is ticking on Iran. No inspectors have been allowed to see what the Iranians are up to at Parchin. A big fucking deal with Iran is this administration's holy grail, and they think they need to be seen as hostile to Israel to get Iran to like them.; 10/28/14, 11:16 PM
Zach said...: This analysis would be far more convincing if there were several world leaders who Obama got along with just fine and Netanyahu were an outlier.

Or if Obama had good relations with Congress. Or even the Democrats in Congress.

Face it. Obama doesn't do well negotiating with equals. He prefers a master-servant relationship. Every time he negotiates with someone in a position of strength, *something* happens to piss him off and sour the relationship.; 10/28/14, 11:33 PM
Zach said...: Thank goodness we have so many reliable allies in the Middle East! A lesser man, locked in complicated and controversial negotiations with Iran and desperately seeking help responding to the Syrian civil war, might seek out better relations with the one US ally that we can actually count on.

Never fear. I'm sure Obama's newfound friends in Tehran will be just as reliable.; 10/28/14, 11:38 PM
Steven said...: Which is to say, Obama and Kerry (and their minions) are as anti-Israel as the rest of us were saying in 2004, 2008, and 2012, back when Goldberg was carrying water for the Democratic candidates.; 10/29/14, 12:05 AM
Gary Rosen said...: Bozo and Bibi; 10/29/14, 1:03 AM
Clyde said...: Obama might have a slightly better understanding of the world and be slightly less ruthless than Kim Jong Un of North Korea. That's the only current national ruler that I'd put below him.; 10/29/14, 6:28 AM
n.n said...: Leftists (e.g. Marxists, communists, socialists, fascists) never did like religious Jews. Especially when they posed an obstacle to formation of capital and control monopolies. Left-wing ideology is in perpetual conflict with moral philosophies that promote individual liberty through self-moderating, responsible behavior.; 10/29/14, 8:39 AM
Michael The Magnificent said...: "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."

Yes, how dare those Jews buy/build houses in neighborhoods they don't
belong in. It's screwing up John Kerry's rightful place in history as a
Nobel peace prize recipient!; 10/29/14, 10:22 AM
Revenant said...: Revenant -- an op-ed in today's WSJ makes clear that the $3B Israel gets in US aid is less than one percent of its GDP.

Yes, I know. I'm not sure why you think that's relevant.

Indeed, the fact that the money isn't that important to them is all the *more* reason they should stop taking it, if they don't like the way the US is behaving.; 10/29/14, 10:25 AM
Sam L. said...: "...and the Netanyahu government openly expresses contempt for Obama's understanding of the Middle East." As well he might. I do.; 10/29/14, 1:12 PM
Bad Lieutenant said...: Rev, since you don't run Israel, but in a sense you do run the USA, why not stop giving the aid? Please try to answer seriously.; 10/29/14, 2:16 PM
hombre said...: @Revenant: Presumably, at some point someone with more sense that Obama felt, or feels, that some US interest is served by supporting Israel with aid - maybe an interest in justice given the land mass and population ratios involved.

Nevertheless, it does not seem that the interests of nations and peoples ought to be affected by what, in a historical sense, amount to momentary disagreements expressed publicly. Why then, would Israel decline aid?

I suppose in predicting outcomes it is wise to consider the makeup of a US Executive Branch that is characterized by petulance, dishonesty and short-sightedness driven by elective politics. Israel may hope for an end to that after the 2016 election - unless Hillary prevails.; 10/29/14, 3:18 PM
Revenant said...: Rev, since you don't run Israel, but in a sense you do run the USA, why not stop giving the aid? Please try to answer seriously.

I've already issued instructions to that effect. Sadly nobody in Washington thinks they need to listen to me, possibly because I in no sense run the USA.; 10/29/14, 8:22 PM
Revenant said...: @Revenant: Presumably, at some point someone with more sense that Obama felt, or feels, that some US interest is served by supporting Israel with aid

I don't know why you'd presume that. Most US government expenditures serve no American interest; the presumption should be that the money's being spent because it was lobbied for and nobody has any real interest in shaving off 0.1% of the budget.

- maybe an interest in justice given the land mass and population ratios involved.

That explains what Israeli interest is served. American interests, not so much. America has zero national interest in protecting the right of Jews to live surrounded by the single largest population of Jew-haters remaining on Earth.

For that matter, the fact that the federal government still personally owns over two billion acres of land forcibly stolen from native tribes pretty clearly shows we don't give a good hard crap about the "justice" of land ownership one way or the other. We support Israel because we like the Israelis better than their enemies. Let's not pretend it goes any deeper than that.; 10/29/14, 8:37 PM