Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to a joint session of the U.S. Congress on Tuesday, delivering his often-repeated message, some parts of it explicit, some of it implied:
•You can’t negotiate with the enemy, Iran.
•They are out to take over the world, or at least the Middle East.
•You’re being weak and naive.
•You can’t trust President Obama.
•You can’t trust Secretary Kerry.
•They will sell your country out.
•Force is the only thing that Iran understands.
•If Iran gets the bomb, they will use the bomb.
•Any negotiation is appeasement -— Munich revisited.
•In case you don’t get the message, from Israel’s point of view, it’s “never again.”
•Bibi says, “I know the way, follow me.”
If Netanyahu is correct about negotiating then:
•The U.S. is wrong.
•Germany is wrong.
•Russia is wrong.
•China is wrong.
•Great Britain is wrong
• France is wrong.
The six nations involved in the negotiations are the five permanent members of the Security Council, plus Germany. Collectively, they are the six most powerful, richest nations in the world, and all are nuclear powers.
In addition India, Pakistan, North Korea and Israel are also nuclear powers and have been for a number of years.
They are all negotiating because they know that a nuclear war in the Middle East impacts them all and is very dangerous to their own security. They don’t want it to come to that.
Bibi Netanyahu’s appearance before the Congress was part-politics, part-national security, part-realistic apprehension and part-show business.
Politics
There are two sides to the politics. From Netanyahu’s side, Israel goes to the polls in a couple of weeks and it probably doesn’t hurt for him to be seen on the world stage as a major political figure.
The risk is that he has left many pro-Israel Democrats, including myself, considerably more skeptical about supporting Israel, or at least the Israeli government. Support for Israel was always bipartisan, yet in one appearance he has seriously split that bipartisanship, and only time will tell us how much damage he’s caused. There is also the risk of blowback in Israel, where many fear he’s fractured the special relationship with the U.S. In a couple of years, Obama will be gone and so will Netanyahu, but the damage may well live on long past them.
National Security
Netanyahu believes that Iran getting the bomb means nuclear war with Israel, and maybe even Israel feeling forced to strike first. To date, nothing supports that fear. That doesn’t mean it couldn’t happen, but there is certainly no love lost between India and Pakistan or North Korea and South Korea, and yet no nuclear war, and for good reason. Every nation that has the bomb knows that in using the bomb they will also be destroyed — kind of a doomsday proposition. Every nation involved in the negotiation knows that a major nuclear exchange in the Middle East just isn’t going to be localized. The damage to surrounding countries from the blast and radiation carried by wind would be enormous and deadly. We may not like Iran or North Korea, but they’re not irrational.
Realistic apprehension
Netanyahu would argue that to assume rationality by Iran is a mistake and, again, he might be right. Iran, on the other hand, would say if anyone is going to start this, it’s probably going to be Netanyahu because he’s the one who sees an existential threat, not Iran.
Show business
Boehner, I suspect, figures this was a sure winner for him. First, he proved to his troops on the right that he’s really a tough dude, willing to stand up to Obama, whom they all hate. He also may have effectively cleaved some of the Jewish vote away from the Democrats, which is significant in a number of major states. But there are also downsides. He’s destroyed the concept of bipartisan foreign policy, if it’s still alive. What’s next, the Senate has its own foreign policy? Foreign leaders go on Fox or MSNBC to criticize our foreign policy and we give them a bully pulpit. It’s important that our government be unified, at least publicly. If not, they cut you to ribbons.
I can’t help but feel that having a foreign head of state come to America and granting them this pulpit, especially in a deeply divided and partisan government, is not a good thing for America and ultimately undercuts our own leadership. Presidents will change and speakers will change, but the presidency will live on and I believe we’re setting a dangerous precedent that undercuts our own unity.