Obama trying to ‘keep rhetoric low’ vis-à-vis Israel

President Barack Obama is trying to “keep the rhetoric low” as relations between the United States and Israel have reached an all-time low, says a political commentator from New Jersey.

“I don’t believe he (Obama) is scared, I think he is being very pragmatic in trying to keep the rhetoric low, trying to keep the propaganda low, and at the same time trying to reassure those that are saying within the Israeli government, that ‘nothing has really changed we’re still an ally’,” Charles Coburn told Press TV on Thursday. 

President Obama recently told a group of American Jews at the White House he would not meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu until nuclear negotiations with Iran end.

Obama told the group last week that a face-to-face meeting in Washington would possibly end with Netanyahu publicly complaining about his policies regarding the Iran nuclear talks, the New York Times reported, citing people familiar with the private meeting.

Coburn said Israel is in no position to intervene in the nuclear talks between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries—the US, France, Britain, Russia, China and Germany.

“As far as the negotiations with P5+1, it is that, it is negotiations with P5+1, not P5+1 plus Israel."

“Netanyahu is a spoiled child. He has made that more and more clear since he had to deal with a president, who was popularly elected by 53 percent of the American electorate, that wasn't going to kiss his [Netanyahu’s] back side as most have over the past couple of decades that he’s been involved in the Israeli government,” Coburn said.

“Those who are interested, already know Netanyahu’s views, and if we didn't [know his views], he managed to rant and rave about them for 40 minutes in front of our Congress as an uninvited guest,” he said.

Coburn was referring to the Israeli prime minister’s recent visit to Washington, where he gave a controversial speech to Congress on March 3 in an effort to convince the US lawmakers that the White House was negotiating “a very bad deal” with Iran over its nuclear program.

The speech sparked debate inside the US about Israel’s role in manipulating American foreign policy through its powerful lobby, including the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or APAC, which exerts great influence on Capitol Hill.

Representatives from Iran and the P5+1 kicked off a new round of negotiations Thursday in the Austrian capital city of Vienna.

HDS/HRJ

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