Obama Directs "Red-Hot Anger" Toward Israel, Grovels Toward Iran and Russia Print
By Timothy H. Lee
Thursday, October 30 2014
[i]f writing off Obama constitutes a trigger for his "red-hot anger," then what foreign or domestic figure is not subject to such anger?

As the world hurtles toward a frighteningly chaotic state, unity with America's allies and toughness toward our enemies become increasingly critical. 

A public opinion survey this week from Rasmussen brought new clarity to the issue, and provided a grim new milestone: 

"The number of voters who think the United States is winning the War on Terror continues to fall to new lows, and more than ever they see a terrorist attack as the biggest threat to the nation.  A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 25% of likely U.S. voters think the United States and its allies are winning the War on Terror, a new all-time low.  In July, belief that the United States is winning the War on Terror plummeted eight points to 27%, its lowest level in over 10 years of regular tracking." 

Unfortunately, the Obama Administration remains more interested in antagonizing our friends, while pathetically groveling toward enemy regimes. 

In a startling Atlantic piece this week entitled "The Crisis in U.S.-Israel Relations is Officially Here," journalist Jeffrey Goldberg revealed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu - not Russia's Vladimir Putin, not North Korea's Kim Jong Un, not Iran's Ayatollah Khamenei - is the world leader that most angers the Obama Administration: 

"The other day I was talking to a senior Obama Administration official about the foreign leader who seems to frustrate the White House and the State Department the most.  'The thing about Bibi is, he's a chicken [expletive],' this official said, referring to the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, by his nickname.  This comment is representative of the gloves-off manner in which American and Israeli officials now talk about each other behind closed doors, and is yet another sign that relations between the Obama and Netanyahu governments have moved toward a full-blown crisis." 

Obama and his officials, Goldberg reports, maintain a "red-hot anger" toward Netanyahu, who has apparently "written off" the Obama Administration. 

But if writing off Obama constitutes a trigger for his "red-hot anger," then what foreign or domestic figure is not subject to such anger?  As just one recent example, consider vulnerable Democratic Alaska Senator Mark Begich.  When asked during a recent debate whether he voted for Obama, Begich replied, "The President's not relevant, he's gone in two years." 

According to Goldberg, Obama officials added that they consider Netanyahu a "coward" and said, "He's got no guts." 

"No guts?"  Netanyahu enlisted in the Israeli army upon graduation from high school in 1967, rose to lead an elite special forces combat unit, participated in multiple covert operations at risk of death, helped rescue the hijacked Sabena flight 571 in May 1972, was shot in the torso and rejoined special forces during the Yom Kippur War following graduation from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.  As Israeli leader, he has obviously commenced innumerable military operations and fortified his nation's defenses against terrorism and missile attack. 

In contrast, Obama spent his younger years in the "Choom Gang," aimlessly drifted from college to college and served as a "community organizer" while listening to the anti-Semitic and anti-American rants of Reverend Jeremiah Wright in Chicago.  And consider the cowardice exhibited by Obama as President.  From transparently adjusting his stance on same-sex marriage according to the latest polls, to bowing to Saudi royalty, to postponing immigration executive orders until after this fall's elections, Obama is hardly a profile in courage.  Indeed, Goldberg notes that Obama may attempt to punish Israel by recognizing a Palestinian state according to the dangerous and unsustainable pre-1967 borders - after the election. 

Moreover, can even the most fanatical Obama loyalist sincerely condemn Netanyahu for defying Obama's demands?  After all, consider the fate to which Obama consigned such friends as the Poles, Ukrainians, Iranian revolutionaries, Iraqis, Syrians, Afghan loyalists and others.  Then consider the way in which Obama promised post-election "flexibility" to Vladimir Putin, his ongoing detente with the murderous Iranian regime or his refusal to even call domestic and foreign Islamist terrorism by its name. 

There is simply more danger in befriending the Obama Administration than opposing it, a lesson that Netanyahu obviously internalized. 

It would be nice if Obama and his administration redirected some of that "red-hot anger" toward abusive officials at the IRS, the rogue Justice Department, those behind the Benghazi attacks, those responsible for "Operation Fast & Furious," Putin's aggression or Iran's malfeasance.  Given the near-impossibility of that, however, it's at least encouraging that someone chooses to stand up to the Obama Administration and its abuses. 

So for that:  Bravo, Bibi.