How to pressure an American president? (Read Haaretz)

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Written by Philip Weiss Philip Weiss
Category: News News
Published: 11 August 2010 11 August 2010
Last Updated: 11 August 2010 11 August 2010
Created: 11 August 2010 11 August 2010
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1. On July 8, Haaretz's Ari Shavit explained how Netanyahu got the upper hand of Obama:

After 18 wasted months during which Obama was the president who exerted pressure, he has become the president who embraces. Obama is embracing the State of Israel and the prime minister of Israel. What happened?

Three things have happened. On one level, Netanyahu waged a struggle. And the statesman who is depicted as susceptible to pressure did not succumb to the American pressure of this past spring. He fought back. The price for what Netanyahu did was felt by Obama in Chicago. The Israeli leader applied hidden pressure to the American leader, which made it perfectly clear to him: No more.

2. Tonight, Haaretz gets a look at Jeffrey Goldberg's forthcoming piece on Israel attacking Iran with or without a green light from the U.S.:

Ben Rhodes, a deputy national security adviser, stressed that "This president has shown again and again that when he believes it is necessary to use force to protect American national security interests, he has done so" - but the Israeli government might need stronger assurances.

Israel is trying to convey the message not only through the official channels - Israeli military intelligence chief Major General Amos Yadlin visited Chicago recently to meet with the billionaire Lester Crown, one of Obama’s [early, crucial, munificent] supporters, and asked to him to convey Israel's concerns to the American President, Goldberg reports.

The connection here was made by Ali Abunimah.

P.S. In January 2008, at an important moment in the Obama run for the Democratic nomination, Lester Crown sent an email to a large number of Jewish voters emphasizing Obama's "stalwart" dedication to Israel and wrote:

"I have been honored to know Barack Obama for years, and I am proud to say that he is unyielding in defending Israel's security," Crown wrote."His conviction holds fast whether the threat comes from Gaza or Tehran.

"He has been a leader in calling for toughening sanctions against Iran as part of a comprehensive diplomatic effort to prevent the development and deployment of Iranian nuclear weapons.

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