MEMO: On Israel, President Obama Leads while Republicans Play Politics
TO: Interested Parties
FR: Bill Burton, Priorities USA Action
RE: MEMO: On Israel, President Obama Leads while Republicans Play Politics
The bipartisan consensus in support of America's relationship with Israel -- a relationship President Obama has called "an unbreakable bond" -- is something to be celebrated. As top Israeli leaders have repeatedly said, President Obama has consistently fought for a secure Israel and peace in the Middle East. But rather than recognize the President's leadership and his strong support for the Israeli-American relationship, today Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney continued to play politics with false attacks on the President.
BACKGROUND
Ehud Barak (Israeli Defense Minister): “I’m the minister of defense, I can tell you that I can hardly remember — I was in uniform for decades — I can hardly remember a better period of support, American support and cooperation and similar strategic understanding of events around us than what we have right now.” [Fox News, 8/4/11]
Prime Minister Netanyahu: "I would like to express my gratitude to the President of the United States, Barack Obama. I asked for his help. This was a decisive and fateful moment. He said, “I will do everything I can.” And so he did. He used every considerable means and influence of the United States to help us. We owe him a special measure of gratitude. This attests to the strong alliance between Israel and the United States." [JTA, 9/10/11]
Wall Street Journal: “Meanwhile, visits by the Israeli and American military brass have jumped dramatically. Since becoming Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 2007, Adm. Michael Mullen has made four visits to Israel, two of them this year alone. Before Adm. Mullen, no chairman of the joint chiefs had visited Israel for over a decade. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak has visited Washington four times so far this year, a schedule unmatched by any recent Israeli defense minister. "There's been a constant stream of American officers coming through," said one senior Israeli army officer. "I haven't seen anything like it in my 20 years in the army."” [Wall Street Journal, 8/14/11]
Elliott Abrams, a former Bush National Security Adviser: "'It’s the best military-to-military relationship ever.’ And that part is true.” [Daily Beast, 9/25/11]
AIPAC Spokesman: “Clearly the Obama administration remains deeply committed to the U.S.-Israel alliance, and supporting aid to Israel and deepening our military cooperation is just one aspect of that.” [Think Progress, 8/18/10]