Lieberman and Kristol Blame Obama.
Normally, the likes of Joe Lieberman and Bill Kristol pride themselves on being the US troops greatest defenders.
So one would have thought that when both Adm. Mike Mullen and Gen. David Petraeus say that a country's actions were putting the lives of American troops in danger, that Lieberman and Kristol would be the first to condemn that country.
Well, that's not actually how this is playing out. Why? Because the country Mullen and Petraeus named was Israel.
A briefing given to Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Michael Mullen has said that that "Israeli intransigence on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was jeopardizing U.S. standing in the region" and that "America was not only viewed as weak, but its military posture in the region was eroding." The briefing was said to have "stunned Mullen."
This briefing - and Petraeus's subsequent request to have the West Bank and Gaza put under his command - is said to have "hit the White House like a bombshell."
Indeed, the danger to American troops was further emphasised by no less a figure than the American Vice President:
"This is starting to get dangerous for us," Biden reportedly told Netanyahu. "What you're doing here undermines the security of our troops who are fighting in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. That endangers us and it endangers regional peace." Yedioth Ahronoth went on to report: "The vice president told his Israeli hosts that since many people in the Muslim world perceived a connection between Israel's actions and US policy, any decision about construction that undermines Palestinian rights in East Jerusalem could have an impact on the personal safety of American troops fighting against Islamic terrorism." The message couldn't be plainer: Israel's intransigence could cost American lives.What was Lieberman's reaction?
Making reference to Clinton’s remarks, Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT), who enjoys public grandstanding on other issues, urged the White House to be quiet on this one:“It was a dust-up, a misunderstanding. (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu has apologized, and the timing was unfortunate. But the second round of criticism is unproductive. I make one appeal — sometimes silence really is golden.”
And then there's this from Bill Kristol:
On Fox News Sunday yesterday, the Weekly Standard’s Bill Kristol stated bluntly that the dust-up was all Obama’s fault. “This is a fight that the White House has picked,” he said. “I do not know, honestly, why the president chose to pick a big public fight just when it was all dying down with Israel.”Petraeus couldn't have made his message clearer:
David Petraeus sent a briefing team to the Pentagon with a stark warning: America's relationship with Israel is important, but not as important as the lives of America's soldiers.There's certainly nothing in the statement of either Lieberman or Kristol to indicate that they take this anywhere near as seriously as Petraeus does. And, considering that Petraeus is talking about the lives of American soldiers, that's highly unusual for both of them.
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2 comments:
Anyone who thinks the problem here was timing, is themselves a part of the problem.
Agreed, SP.
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