The Patriot Post® · No Nuke Netanyahu vs. Obama the Appeaser

Barack Obama is furious. A president who embellished the truth so often during his State of the Union address that the Associated Press felt compelled to fact-check his speech wants no interference – more commonly known as congressional input – in his effort to reach an agreement with Iran.

“New sanctions passed by this Congress, at this moment in time, will all but guarantee that diplomacy fails  – alienating America from its allies and ensuring that Iran starts up its nuclear program again,” Obama said during his address. “It doesn’t make sense. That is why I will veto any new sanctions bill that threatens to undo this progress.”

Yet for the first time in recent memory (or perhaps ever), House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) decided an opposing viewpoint on this highly critical issue would be appropriate, especially one coming from an individual well-versed in Islamofascism and Iran’s murderous ambitions. Thus Boehner invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address Congress on March 3.

Boehner offered up his rationale for the invitation. “[Obama’s] exact message to us was, ‘Hold your fire.’ He expects us to stand idly by and do nothing while he cuts a bad deal with Iran,” Boehner said. “Two words: ‘Hell no!’ We’re going to do no such thing.”

And lest anyone think it’s strictly Boehner and the GOP who are upset by Obama’s stance, think again. “The more I hear from the administration and its quotes, the more it sounds like talking points that come straight out of Tehran. And it feeds to the Iranian narrative of victimization, when they are the ones with original sin, an illicit nuclear weapons program going back over the course of 20 years that they are unwilling to come clean on. So I don’t know why we feel compelled to make their case,” said Sen. Robert Menendez, ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Furthermore, 11 other Senate Democrats have previously cosponsored legislation to impose sanctions on Iran – meaning the Senate is dangerously close to having the necessary two-thirds majority to override an Obama veto. And maybe an inspirational speech by Netanyahu might be just the impetus to get them across the finish line, allowing Congress to set the agenda and defy a president who has made a habit, often unconstitutional, of ignoring the legislative branch altogether.

The story given to the American public was quite different. Press Secretary Josh Earnest contended Boehner’s invitation is a breach of normal diplomatic protocol. Apparently Earnest forgets former Democrat House Speaker Nancy Pelosi breached normal diplomatic protocol during a visit to Syrian dictator and Iranian ally Bashar al-Assad in 2007. Proving progressives were no less naive then than they are now, Pelosi insisted at the time, “The road to Damascus is a road to peace.” And that’s as far as an apples-to-apples comparison goes, given the inconvenient reality that Netanyahu is a staunch ally while Assad is a terrorist-enabling Islamic thug.

According to Haaretz, Obama, along with Secretary of State John Kerry and Vice President Joe Biden, will shun Netanyahu during his visit, a snub Earnest claims is nothing more than a desire not to influence Israel’s upcoming elections. However, an unnamed “senior” U.S. official illuminated the administration’s real response: “We thought we’ve seen everything, but Bibi managed to surprise even us. There are things you simply don’t do. He spat in our face publicly and that’s no way to behave. Netanyahu ought to remember that President Obama has a year and a half left to his presidency, and that there will be a price.”

It would be far better for Americans to remember Obama’s strategy of blatant appeasement. One that allows Iran to continue enriching uranium to 3.5% purity in unlimited quantities, approximately 60% of the purity needed to produce weapons-grade material. Its development of ICBMs also continues apace, as does its plan to build two more light-water plutonium reactors. Meanwhile, negotiations have continued with the world’s foremost sponsor of state terrorism for more than 10 years.

Bottom line: Obama wants a “legacy moment” even if it means endangering our national security and engendering a nuclear arms race in the world’s most unstable region. Netanyahu, Senate Republicans and a number of Senate Democrats oppose him. Yet our reliably arrogant commander in chief and his clueless administration are determined to shut them down with a pre-announced veto aimed at Congress and back-channel threats aimed at Netanyahu for nothing more than daring to speak the truth. As of now, none of it is flying.

That’s why Obama is furious.