Israeli analysts are now suggesting that Mr. Obama and his aides might be overplaying their hand, inviting a backlash of sympathy for Mr. Netanyahu, and that they may not have clearly defined what they expected to gain diplomatically by continuing to pressure the Israeli leader.

Hellsangel wrote:You're just ranting again, Comrade. Read the first two paragraphs one more time.

NYTReader
Pittsburgh 17 hours ago

Israel has been over playing its hand with the United States for decades.

Now the results are beginning to play out.

The American people have long suffered with this relationship, President Obama has wide support on this issue.

Valerie
Oak Park, IL 6 hours ago

Israel will never come to the table and talk peace as long as the U.S. continues to send 3 billion dollars in military aid each year. Obama can talk tough about Netanyahu's hawkish behavior but his rhetoric changes nothing. Without all the weapons of mass destruction in Israel's arsenal that they use against their neighbors - weapons paid for by U.S tax dollars - they would have to actually look for real solutions to bring peace - including ending Israel's occupation and expansion into Palestinian territory.

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Robert Paster
Boston 5 hours ago

It's about time the US stands up to Netanyahu's tail wagging the dog. The United States is a great country--the strongest in the world--and it is not in our interest to take sides in the great Iran-Saudi Arabia struggle. It is in our interest to bring Iran into the civilized world. Obama's foreign policy is brilliant: Yes to Saudi Arabia and yes to Iran. That's what the world's strongest country does. When regional powers like Russia get too big for their britches, we ratchet up the sanctions until they reverse course. It's also in our interest to deal with pipsqueak countries on our terms--engage with a harmless Cuba 90 miles off our coast, and don't take Netanyahu's bait to fight a war for him. It's not in our interest.
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Gwbear
Florida 5 hours ago

Israel needs us way more than we need them. Who says they make good allies? It's not been that way for many years. All they are right now is an embarrassment and an obligation many of us would gladly jettison. If they had less support from us, a bit more regional flexibility might be forthcoming. The idea that it's such a privilege to be Israel's friend and ally is a delusion, with nothing in it based in reality.

It's long past time our President did make this personal! Israel wants us to put our military in harm's way for their benefit. How more personal can you get? When someone wants us to fight and have our equipment lost and people die... it's personal all right. It's now personal for each and every American: do we want to fight Israel's war with Iran?

If Israel is an ally, I'd hate to see what an enemy looks like. Iran has a very capable and modern military, very able to defend it's own land and waters. If we fight and lose planes, and entire groups of ships, maybe even a carrier or two, the many dead and countless billions of dollars lost will make it personal in ways that we have not seen in many years.

I for one am most grateful that our President is taking a stand.