Explaining the Netanyahu Thing

With his American accent, American education and conservative bona fides, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is the perfect leader. In fact, if Republicans had their way, he would be their Supreme Leader. To this, they would rather – which they do already – side with him that with their own American president. As far as the Republicans are concerned, President Obama must do what Prime Minister Netanyahu wants done with Iran. The Republicans, some Democrats and Netanyahu himself, say that the current negotiations to find some sort of nuclear neuter on The Iran Thing are just as boneheaded and wrong. Iran’s Mullahs are just leading the United States along, and soon, the United States is going to realize that by negotiating with Iran, they have, inevitably, launched a nuclear Iran on the Middle East.

What a load of bollocks!

Now, please excuse the uncouth expression and blame it on those Brits. However, we must not necessarily beat about the bush with this thing. Not only is Netanyahu bad for cohesion in the United States; he is probably going to make more people in the Middle East mad at America.

Yes – every nation has to look out for its own national security, and no other nation on earth does it quite as well as Israel. For a small strip of land to survive for as long as it has in the middle of what they may see as a snake pit, is incredibly admirable. But at the same time, the fact is the United States has, since the late 1940s, underwritten many of these safety and security confidences. The United States continues to do this, and it does not matter whether its an Obama, a Clinton or a Bush. Support for Israel is the same.

But in 2015, with Speaker John Boehner inviting another nation’s leader behind HIS nation’s leader’s back, things are coming to a head. That you can hear the bloodletting on both the Israeli and American sides is monumental. The press people are saying all manner of things about the Iran negotiations; with the Israelis saying that the Americans are keeping things from them, and the Americans retorting that the Israelis are not to be trusted under the circumstances. What the United States is not necessarily saying is that Israel has a fundamental interest in keeping Iran down.

In ‘Iranophobia,’ Haggai Ram presents a study of Israeli culture and its ‘delusions’ towards Iran. It seems that although Israel and Iran are, invariably, enemies, some of the blame can be placed at Israel’s feet for ginning up some sort of ‘social psychology of its own fearful fantasies’ against the Persians. Interestingly, Haggai makes a comment that Iran does not necessarily have enemies – a debatable fact – and also suggests that Netanyahu is a little upset with Obama simply because Obama did not continue the anti-terrorist agenda of his predecessor. Haggai says that Israel got cover from the war on terrorism for its belligerent policies in the region, and with Obama’s hope for a ‘new, sanguine era of global politics,’ this is, basically, putting a spanner in Israel’s works.

Obviously, many of our readers are more concerned about how Netanyahu is treating Obama in Obama’s own backyard than with Israel’s security. They wonder if Netanyahu despises Obama because he is black. But many do not realize how desperate Netanyahu is to nip this Iran thing in the bud. The Rand Corporation suggests that both Israel and Saudi Arabia consider Iran a regional rival and this is all economics (and some politics), baby! If this peace deal goes through and Iran’s sanctions are lifted, countless firms are keen to tap what many consider ‘one of the largest untapped markets in the world – more significant than Burma.’ Besides, with ‘a young, educated population that is eager for Western-made goods, particularly in the technology sector,’ there’s no doubt that Iran will return to the industrializing they were already going into before sanctions hit them in the kisser. Bringing Iran back to the fold of global politics will not only show the world that they were a ‘hermit’ kingdom in reaction to what the world threw at them; the United States may go back to having the kind of friend in the Middle East it did when the Shah was still in the middle of things. The New York Times has a delicious breakdown of the U.S. – Iran relationship. Now, where would Israel be if things turn out better for Iran? We do not know.

And like The Habari Network has maintained, this Obama-being-black thing is not used as a traditional racial thing where being black is considered inferior. No. Obama’s being black is just as political a tool as if he were three-legged or long-ear-lobbed and green eyed. He is just ‘the other,’ different and exotic, and anyone knows that this is ‘acceptable’ in politics. Netanyahu is doing it – but he is doing it because the Republicans need him to do this. So, at the same time, its just business, baby!

Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic says Netanyahu is engaging in behavior that is without precedent: He is apparently so desperate to stay in office that he has let the Republicans weaponize his country in their struggle against a Democratic president they despise. Boehner seeks to do damage to Obama, and he has turned Netanyahu into an ally in this cause. It’s not entirely clear here who is being played.

The Habari Network Editorial Board
February 16, 2015