Obama-Netanyahu relationship is ‘most dysfunctional’ ever

Times of Israel ^ | January 18, 2013, 1:06 am | By Times of Israel staff

[F15Eagle]

US president and Israeli prime minister have never been as deeply at odds and for so long, says former top US diplomat

The relationship between US President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is “the most dysfunctional” ever between an American president and an Israeli prime minister, a veteran former American diplomat said Thursday.

Aaron David Miller, a scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center who served under six secretaries of state in both Republican and Democratic administrations, added that while there had been strained personal relationships between the two countries top leaders’ in the past, this breakdown was unique in that it had not been corrected in four years, and would now likely be extended with Obama’s re-election and Netanyahu’s likely re-election next week.

Speaking on Warren Olney’s NPR show “To the point,” Miller noted that both Jimmy Carter and Menachem Begin, and George H.W. Bush and Yitzhak Shamir had difficult relationships, but in both those cases a common cause emerged to improve the connection. In the case of Carter-Begin, it was the opportunity to make peace with Egypt, and in the case of Bush-Shamir, it was the struggle against Saddam Hussein, where Shamir agreed not to retaliate for Saddam’s Scud missile attacks on Israel.

No such common cause had emerged to salvage the dysfunctional Obama-Netanyahu relationship, he said, noting that even the shared concern over Iran’s nuclear drive was characterized by the “significant difference” between the two men over how to handle the threat.

[Gay State Conservative]

Dysfunctional? That's a curious way to put it.Osama Obama & Pals have a contempt for Israel that's almost as deep as is their contempt for this country.It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure *that* out.

[YHAOS]

0bama is the most dysfunctional ever, so . . .

[yefragetuwrabrumuy]

When Obama sent Democrat party agitator-planner Stanley Greenberg to Israel to organize massive anti-government rallies, the “2011 Israeli social justice protests”, which he did, in hopes of overthrowing the conservative, sort of, Israeli government, which the protests didn’t, it pretty much sounded like political war between the Democrats in the US and the Israelis who were not left wing socialists.

Obama and company had some weird fantasy about creating an “Israeli spring”, which would result in a leftist-socialist Israeli government, that Obama could support.

[Venturer]

Obama is a Muslim born and bred. He willnever be onthe side of Israel.

He told us so in his book, why doesn’t anyone listen.

[JohnBrowdie]

name one relationship that obama has that isn't dysfunctional. he isolates himself (very good idea for a president, by the way) in his upstairs study, and only comes out to play golf, campaign, or read a TOTUS speech.

his only real relationships are composed of getting dominated by valerie, michelle, and mother robinson.

[butterdezillion]

You took the words right out of my mouth.

[MuttTheHoople]

noting that even the shared concern over Iran’s nuclear drive was characterized by the “significant difference” between the two men over how to handle the threat.

That's because Obama WANTS Iran to win.

[csmusaret]

How Israel got to this point...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09pmTh64vD8