toomuchtime_
Gold Member
- Dec 29, 2008
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You really think Israeli confidence in Obama could get much lower?
With respect to the Israeli - Palestinian Arab issue, no, but with respect to Iran, yes. All that is keeping Netanyahu from ordering a strike on Iran's nuclear weapons program is the confidence some Israeli politicians and some of the Israeli public still have that the US will not allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons.
In other words, BB's waiting for the US election to end so as to see where he and Israel stands.
I agree.
You misunderstand. Netanyahu and some others in the government are working hard to rally support among the Israeli public and in the security cabinet for a strike against Iran in the very near future, but many Israelis in and out of the government are still reluctant to support a strike unless the US gives Israel a green light. If Israel were to strike Iran's nuclear weapons program before he US election, this action might well influence the election, probably in Romney's favor, and the perception that an Israeli action influenced a US election might negatively impact future relations, especially with Democrats.
On the other hand, if Israel continues to wait for Obama to stop Iran's nuclear weapons program and he doesn't, this will endanger Israelis and others in the region. It is reasonable to assume that in a second term, Obama will be much harsher with Israel than he was in his first term, but ironically, this might make an Israeli strike against Iran more likely, since recent experience has shown that the tougher Obama is on Netanyahu the higher Netanyahu's poll ratings go, and this may well give him the boost he needs to have the public and security cabinet approve the strike.