Netanyahu to meet with O amid friction over Iran
Feb 20, 2012 23:03:44 GMT -5
Post by PrisonerOfHope on Feb 20, 2012 23:03:44 GMT -5
Netanyahu to meet with Obama amid friction over Iran
US national security adviser leaves Israel; intelligence chief on his way
By Aaron Kalman February 20, 2012, 7:18 pm 0
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet with US President Barack Obama on March 5, officials announced on Monday, amid growing signs of tension between Israel and the US over thwarting Iran’s nuclear drive.
Netanyahu is scheduled to visit Washington for the annual AIPAC conference where he will be a key guest speaker, and the two leaders will have an official meeting during the second day of the conference.
Israeli prime ministers have commonly met with US presidents when visiting Washington, DC for AIPAC’s annual policy conference. However, this year’s newly announced meeting may prove particularly significant, since it comes amidst a flurry of reports suggesting that Israel is considering military intervention to try to thwart Iran’s nuclear program, and that the Obama Administration is seeking to discourage any such course of action.
The US has been urging Israel to give more time for economic sanctions on Iran to have an impact. Netanyahu, during a visit to Cyprus last Thursday, observed that sanctions were not working. As the US presses Israel to hold back, Israel is urging the US to intensify the sanctions, Channel 2 news reported on Monday.
On Monday’s “CBS This Morning,” Joseph Cirincione, a nuclear policy expert, State Department adviser and member of the Council on Foreign Relations, said that an Israeli strike could be counterproductive and might mark the start of a very large conflict.
“This would be a very large and complicated and uncertain adventure,” Cirincione said. “They’d have to dodge a pretty stout Iran air defense network, and if they did hit the targets, as they probably could, it’s uncertain whether they would do enough damage to actually do much more than delay the program for a year or so.”
Meanwhile Obama’s national security adviser, Tom Donilon, concluded three days of talks with Israeli leaders in Jerusalem that focused heavily on Iran.
He met with Netanyahu, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and others. Last month, the chairman of the US joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Martin Dempsey, traveled to Israel. On Thursday, the US director of national intelligence in due in Jerusalem, Channel 2 reported.
The White House described the talks as a reflection of the Obama administration’s “unshakable commitment to Israel’s security.”
Dempsey said in an interview broadcast Sunday that an Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities is “not prudent.”
AP contributed to this report.
www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-to-meet-with-obama/
US national security adviser leaves Israel; intelligence chief on his way
By Aaron Kalman February 20, 2012, 7:18 pm 0
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet with US President Barack Obama on March 5, officials announced on Monday, amid growing signs of tension between Israel and the US over thwarting Iran’s nuclear drive.
Netanyahu is scheduled to visit Washington for the annual AIPAC conference where he will be a key guest speaker, and the two leaders will have an official meeting during the second day of the conference.
Israeli prime ministers have commonly met with US presidents when visiting Washington, DC for AIPAC’s annual policy conference. However, this year’s newly announced meeting may prove particularly significant, since it comes amidst a flurry of reports suggesting that Israel is considering military intervention to try to thwart Iran’s nuclear program, and that the Obama Administration is seeking to discourage any such course of action.
The US has been urging Israel to give more time for economic sanctions on Iran to have an impact. Netanyahu, during a visit to Cyprus last Thursday, observed that sanctions were not working. As the US presses Israel to hold back, Israel is urging the US to intensify the sanctions, Channel 2 news reported on Monday.
On Monday’s “CBS This Morning,” Joseph Cirincione, a nuclear policy expert, State Department adviser and member of the Council on Foreign Relations, said that an Israeli strike could be counterproductive and might mark the start of a very large conflict.
“This would be a very large and complicated and uncertain adventure,” Cirincione said. “They’d have to dodge a pretty stout Iran air defense network, and if they did hit the targets, as they probably could, it’s uncertain whether they would do enough damage to actually do much more than delay the program for a year or so.”
Meanwhile Obama’s national security adviser, Tom Donilon, concluded three days of talks with Israeli leaders in Jerusalem that focused heavily on Iran.
He met with Netanyahu, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and others. Last month, the chairman of the US joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Martin Dempsey, traveled to Israel. On Thursday, the US director of national intelligence in due in Jerusalem, Channel 2 reported.
The White House described the talks as a reflection of the Obama administration’s “unshakable commitment to Israel’s security.”
Dempsey said in an interview broadcast Sunday that an Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities is “not prudent.”
AP contributed to this report.
www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-to-meet-with-obama/
