by Eric Zuesse, The Duran:
On June 22nd, Crispian Balmer headlined in The Arab Weekly, “From Clinton to Trump, Netanyahu fights with presidents and wins: Netanyahu’s belief in his ability to advance his agenda, and withstand American pressure when needed, has deep roots.” He noted:
A little over a month ago, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu appeared to have been shunted to the shadows by US President Donald Trump, who hopscotched the Middle East without visiting Israel, traditionally Washington’s closest regional ally.
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Worse still, from Netanyahu’s perspective, Trump lifted sanctions on neighbouring Syria, something Israel opposed, and talked up the prospects of securing a nuclear deal with Iran, something the prime minister has always cautioned against.
Fast forward five weeks and the United States has bombed Iran’s main nuclear installations, fulfilling a decades-old dream of Netanyahu to convince Washington to bring its full military might to thwart Tehran’s atomic ambitions.
The U.S. attack underscores a broader truth that has defined Netanyahu’s career: no matter how fraught his relationships with successive presidents, he normally ends up getting what he wants.
For over three decades, Netanyahu has clashed, often spectacularly, with American leaders. He has lectured them, defied them, embarrassed them publicly and privately. And yet, across Democratic and Republican administrations, US military aid has flowed largely uninterrupted to Israel. Washington remains Israel’s chief arms supplier and diplomatic shield. …
Just one month ago, opposition leader Yair Lapid accused Netanyahu of destroying Israel’s relations with the United States. This weekend’s action represents the closest US-Israeli military alignment yet against a common adversary.
Withstanding pressure
Netanyahu’s belief in his ability to advance his agenda, and withstand American pressure when needed, has deep roots.
Barely a month after becoming prime minister for the first time in 1996, he met President Bill Clinton in Washington and immediately rubbed him up the wrong way.
“Who the f* does he think he is? Who’s the f*ing superpower here?” Clinton asked his aides afterwards, according to US diplomat Aaron David Miller, who was present.
But vital US aid to Israel continued to flow, something that would remain a constant over the years. …
Relations between the two turned openly hostile, initially over Israeli settlement building in occupied territory that Palestinians claim for a future stake, a constant thorn in US-Israeli relations.
Matters deteriorated further as Obama entered negotiations with Iran to curb its nuclear drive, a project that Israel said is aimed at creating atomic bombs and that Tehran has said is for purely civilian purposes.
