The American-Israeli Relationship Got a Boost Today

Israeli prime minister Benyamin Netanyahu said at a press conference this afternoon that he is sure that President Obama, standing beside him, "...is determined to prevent Iran from getting nuclear weapons,...I appreciate that. I appreciate the fact that the president has reaffirmed, more than any other president, Israel's right and duty to defend itself by itself against any threat." Netanyahu said the carrot-and-stick approach now being employed to cajole Iran into proving that its nuclear intentions are peaceful had to be bolstered by "a clear and credible threat of military action." Obama's recognition of Israel's right to act alone appeared to satisfy him, and the prime minister was also delighted by the American President's announcement that a new 10-year US-Israel security pact is being negotiated. Obama said the US also is investigating whether chemical weapons were deployed in Syria earlier this week. He said he was "deeply skeptical" of contentions by Syrian President Bashar Assad's government that rebel forces were behind any such attack. However, whereas Israel seems convinced that al-Assad has used chemical weapons recently, the US President, while supporting the conclusion that if chemical weapons were used, it was not the rebels who did so, also said that America is still investigating whether such weapons have actually been used, crossing the "red line" that Obama has repeatedly said would be "a game changer." The two leaders seemed at ease together, a far cry from their earlier frosty relationship. We may wonder, dear readers, whether they have changed their personal opinions of each other. But that is really not important. What matters is that once again Israel and the United States are standing shoulder-to-shoulder against Iranian nuclear ambitions, that they recognize that Israel's security is a paramount American pre-occupation, and that they are presenting a united front against would-be attackers of Israel. Obviously, America is the best friend, and sometimes the only friend, Israel has. But today's effort to display that friendship may also mean that President Obama has finally realized that Israel is the best, and sometimes the only, friend America has - in the Middle East and, along with Great Britain and Japan, we are tempted to add, in the world.