President Obama used an urgent White House meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday to showcase his commitment to America’s chief ally in the Middle East, but he sounded far less willing than Netanyahu to use force in preventing a nuclear Iran.
“Both the prime minister and I prefer to solve this diplomatically,” Obama said as he and Netanyahu settled in for hours of private meetings. The president insisted, however, that he wasn’t ruling out the option of using military force to ensure Iran doesn’t develop a nuclear weapon.
Yet, sitting next to Obama in the Oval Office, Netanyahu responded that Israel remains the “master of its fate,” and at least publicly did not embrace Obama’s call for a diplomatic solution to Iran.
“When it comes to Israel’s security, Israel has the right, the sovereign right to make its own decisions,” Netanyahu said. “After all, that is the very purpose of the Jewish state, to restore to the Jewish people control over our destiny.”
Still, administration officials calculate that it would take Iran at least a year to develop a nuclear weapon, leaving time for diplomatic talks. In the meantime, the White House is banking that stiff economic sanctions will ultimately force Iran back to the negotiating table.
A growing number of Israeli officials, however, favor the use of a more immediate military strike on Iran. They say a nuclear-armed Iran would imperil Israel’s very existence, noting the Iranian government’s support for terrorist organizations and its stockpile of ballistic missiles as well as the prospect of other Middle Eastern nations following Iran’s lead in pursuing nuclear arms.
The White House summit — although far more cordial than previous meetings between Obama and Netanyahu — did not set specific benchmarks for determining whether the U.S. would engage Iran militarily.
David Kearn, a political scientist at St. John’s University, said it “seems the Israelis are taking the maximum hard-line position to influence several audiences.”
“The credible threat of force may push the Iranians to the table and the Europeans and U.N. to push harder and get Tehran to open up some of these sites, let inspectors in, etc.,” he said. “But obviously, it’s a dangerous game with potential for misunderstanding and misperceptions.”
Republicans have assailed Obama for not directly committing to using military force to defend Israel against Iran. Democrats counter that an Iranian economy in tatters and growing frustration with leadership there could produce a solution without military intervention.
Obama and Netanyahu on Monday tried to showcase their solidarity, something that’s been lacking in their previous Oval Office discussions.
“For them, you’re the Great Satan, we’re the Little Satan,” Netanyahu said of Iran’s view of the two nations. “For them, we are you and you’re us.”
Obama declared: “The bond between our two countries is unbreakable. Our commitment to the security of Israel is rock solid.”
