Friends Don’t Let Friends Bomb Iran

Whatever their private discussions, the governing administrations of the United States and Israel are engaged in a public back and forth that ought to give one pause. It all started when Vice President Biden said “Israel can determine for itself” whether to bomb Iran.

“I think he said things that are very logical,” responded Avigdor Lieberman, Israel’s foreign minister and extremist in chief. “Israel is a sovereign state and at the end of the day, the government of Israel has sole responsibility for its security and future, not anybody else.”

Sure, but what about the $2.4 billion in annual military aid the U.S. sends Israel’s way?

AP via Google:

The White House said Biden’s remarks did not signal a shift in U.S. policy. In an interview published by the New York Times on Monday, President Barak Obama indicated the diplomatic option was still viable. “We have offered a pathway for Iran to rejoining the international community,” he was quoted as saying.

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman’s response to Biden’s comments was relatively measured. “I think he said things that are very logical,” he said. “Israel is a sovereign state and at the end of the day, the government of Israel has sole responsibility for its security and future, not anybody else.”

“Sometimes there are disputes between friends, but at the end of the day the decision is ours,” he said.

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White House / Sharon Farmer