Saturday, August 2, 2014

Netanyahu to Obama Administration After Soldier's Kidnapping: "Never Second-Guess Me Again"

Max Fisher recently derided the Israeli Channel 1 transcript of Obama's conversation with Netanyahu last Sunday. In a Vox article entitled "The 10 funniest parodies of the obviously fake Obama-Netanyahu phone transcript" (http://www.vox.com/2014/7/29/5949289/the-10-funniest-parodies-of-the-obviously-fake-obama-netanyahu-phone), Fisher wrote (my emphasis in red):

"On Tuesday, Israel's Channel 1 published what it says is a transcript of President Obama's private phone call to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asking for an immediate ceasefire. It is true that Obama called Netanyahu on Sunday and that, according to the White House, he called for an immediate and unilateral [sic]. It is not true, according to everybody on earth except for Channel 1, that Channel 1's transcript is remotely accurate. It is transparently fictional, and appears crafted in such a way as to make Obama appear unreasonable and obtuse despite Netanyahu's reasoned objections to a ceasefire."

The transcript is not "remotely accurate"? According to the transcript:

"Barack Obama: I demand that Israel agrees to an immediate, unilateral ceasefire and halt all offensive activities, in particular airstrikes.

Benjamin Netanyahu: And what will Israel receive in exchange for a ceasefire?

BO: I believe that Hamas will cease its rocket fire — silence will be met with silence.

BN: Hamas broke all five previous ceasefires. It’s a terrorist organization dedicated to the destruction of Israel.

BO: I repeat and expect Israel to stop all its military activities unilaterally. The pictures of destruction in Gaza distance the world from Israel’s position.

Today, in an article entitled "US must ‘never second-guess me again’ on Hamas, Netanyahu tells Shapiro" (http://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-tells-us-envoy-to-israel-never-second-guess-me-again-on-hamas/) The Times of Israel tells us that Netanyahu has rebuked the US ambassador to Israel, Dan Shapiro, following the violation of the ceasefire with Hamas, which led to the kidnapping of an Israeli soldier:

"In a phone call with US Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro about the breakdown of the short-lived UN- and US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vented his anger, according to people familiar with the call.

Netanyahu told Shapiro the Obama administration was 'not to ever second-guess me again' and that Washington should trust his judgment on how to deal with Hamas, according to people familiar with the conversation. Netanyahu added that he now 'expected' the US and other countries to fully support Israel’s offensive in Gaza, according to those familiar with the call. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter by name."

Tell us, Max, are you still so sure that there was nothing "remotely accurate" in the Channel 1 transcript?

[I sent an email to Fisher, asking that he relate to the above. Do you think he will respond?]

1 comment:

  1. I can just see BO telling his senior staff:
    "Who the f#@k does he think he is? Who's the f#@king superpower here?"
    But wait, didn't an obtuse Bill Clinton say the same thing in 1996, after being lectured by Netanyahu on the realities Middle East?

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