Don't Lose Sight Of The REAL STORY In The ALLIANCE Between Netanyahu and the GOP

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Benjamin Netanyahu seems to think that standing and speaking before the Congress of the United States will make him look big right before an election back home. John Boehner seems to think that behaving like an ass will make him look like less of an ass. Or something. Frankly, it's always hard to fathom what goes on inside John Boehner's orange head. And even Netanyahu himself is playing Boehner for a fool. Which isn't hard to do. But digby gets to the real point about the latest Republican attempt to make President Obama look bad by making themselves look worse. Let's not get caught up in process. This story is about much more than process.

But here's the problem. Yes, the way it was done was wrong. The Speaker of the House should not be inviting foreign leaders to speak without clearing it with the White House. This is the kind of thing they should agree upon before it happens.

But the real issue here is that Netanyahu and the Republicans are trying to tank the nuclear negotiations with Iran. Even if they had crossed all their Is and dotted their Ts they'd still be trying to stand in the way of a more peaceful world. That's the problem, not the lack of protocol. And it's a big one.

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2015/02/more-process-dodgin.html

The White House is trying to negotiate a solution to a critical international security issue. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani appears to be trying to do the same. Time will tell. But both sides are talking, and that has been a step in the right direction. The problem is that ideological extremists want to undermine any effort at a peaceful resolution. Ideological extremists in Iran and Israel and in the United States.





http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/02/10/1363571/-What-digby-said-Don-t-lose-sight-of-the-real-story-in-the-alliance-between-Netanyahu-and-the-GOP

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1. "...If it really is that important for Congress to hear from Netanyahu in person,...

"....I propose this conflict-ending solution: Invite Netanyahu to testify.

I recognize that having foreign heads of state testify before Congress is not something that’s usually done, but having foreign heads of state attack the President of the United States’ foreign policy agenda before Congress isn’t something that’s usually done, either. [JF note: Actually, never.]Not only would this arrangement address concerns that Netanyahu might use his speech to Congress for his own domestic political advantage, it would also give members of Congress the opportunity to ask questions and probe his views more deeply.

Let’s remember that Prime Minister Netanyahu has some experience with this, having testified before Congress in 2002 in support of the invasion of Iraq, where he told the House Government and Reform Oversight Committee, “There is no question whatsoever that Saddam is seeking and is working and is advancing towards the development of nuclear weapons — no question whatsoever,” and assured them, “If you take out Saddam, Saddam’s regime, I guarantee you that it will have enormous positive reverberations on the region.......”

http://fmep.org/blog/2015/02/proposal-ending-netanyahu-conflict/