Democrats on Netanyahu’s Speech: Bibi’s Never Seen a War He Doesn’t Want the U.S. to Fight

[kpete]

Rep. Jared Huffman of California, who attended the speech, accused the prime minister of trying to push the United States into war.

“This is a prime minister who’s never seen a war he didn’t want our country to fight,” Huffman said, adding that diplomats negotiating with Iran shouldn’t be distracted by Netanyahu’s address.

Rep. Jan Schakowsky, a liberal Illinois Democrat, suggested Netanyahu’s credibility is suspect because he also backed the 2003 war in Iraq.

“What I heard today felt to me like an effort to stampede the United States into war once again,” she said.

Another Democrat compared Netanyahu to George W. Bush’s former vice president. “This speech was straight out of the Dick Cheney playbook,” said Kentucky Rep. John Yarmuth. “It was fear-mongering at its ultimate.”



more:
http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/03/netanyahu_s_speech_to_congress_democrats_react_to_bibi_s_message_on_iran.html?wpsrc=sh_all_tab_fb_top

[Autumn]

1. Recommended for the straight up truth.

Seeing that bastard speaking to Congress and his minions cheering him on sickened me. They and he hate this country.

[Scuba]

2. +1

[liberalmike27]

21. So

"IF we could get Iran to give up any nuclear ambitions, would you be willing to get rid of your 100-150 nukes, Bibi?" would be the question I'd ask.

These interviews are so painfully one-sided, Israel favored, at least the ones I've seen on MSNBC, that it's nearly ridiculous. We're requiring Iran to do things Israel won't do. Iran just wants nukes to serve as a deterrent against actions by the US.

[R. Daneel Olivaw]

32. 100-150? I believe that it may be more than that. 400---?

[Erose999]

3. Bibi wants the US to bomb Iran for him and pay for it too. Israel has an advanced military, as well

as the support of the US,the UN, and NATO if they're attacked. As well as nuclear weapons. What more does Bibi want? Fucking training wheels?

[Aerows]

12. Well all the American lives

and treasure that the US would lose in a war with Iran is a price Bibi is willing to pay.

Sadly it seems that we are Israel's ally but they aren't ours.

[bigwillq]

17. Sadly it seems that we are Israel's ally but they aren't ours.

YUP!

And as soon as USA cuts off money and resources, Israel would unfriend us faster than a disgruntled facebook user.

[Fantastic Anarchist]

20. And probably post unflattering pictures of us on Twitter.

[whathehell]

47. Yes, it feels like we're The Abused Wife in an abusive marriage, so

what gives? Why do we continue in this one-sided "love affair"?

[AngryDem001]

37. "Hey American boys and girls!"

"Wouldn't it be rad to go fight and die and get captured? For ISRAEL? Wouldn't that be AWESOME?! '"

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

4. You got that right. That stupid fuck is going to get us ALL killed!

[Spazito]

5. This says it all...

" “This speech was straight out of the Dick Cheney playbook,” said Kentucky Rep. John Yarmuth. “It was fear-mongering at its ultimate.”

[Jeff Murdoch]

18. Just like Darth Cheney in a yarmulke.

[Spazito]

19. No, just like Cheney, full stop...

Neocons, warmongering neocons.

[SoapBox]

6. Perfect!

Now if we could get some of the other spineless DINO's to say the same.

[justhanginon]

7. Classic "let's you and him fight" and

I will stand here and root you on. I'm so sick of this SOB. Always one hand out for money and the other holding a knife to stab you in the back.

[2naSalit]

8. Best description I've seen

so far!!

And welcome to DU.

[enid602]

9. Obama

Now that Bibi is up for reelection, I think Obama should send Kerry to speak to the Knesset to urge an end to the Palestinian Occupation. Probably would never happen, but I can dream.

[kpete]

13. xlnt idea

peace to you and yours enid602,
kp

[karynnj]

16. By definition, the Knesset always has a majority for the PM's coalition

Not to mention, the Knesset was dissolved when elections were called. There is a very hard to completely get process for how the new government is decided and formed.

Apparently, everyone in Israel votes for a party. Each party has a "list" with the names of who they would put in the Knesset in the order in which they will be put in. All parties that get less than 3.5% of the vote are eliminated and all others get a number of seats proportional to the remaining votes. (ie if your party gets 6 seats, they go to the top 6 on your list.)

Once the Knesset is formed, each MK can recommend who they want as PM. The President (Rivlin) chooses the head of some party to have the first try in forming a coalition. That person needs 61 of the 120 MK to join his/her government. It is not required to pick the party with the most votes. In 2009, Kadima, headed by Livni, got more seats than Likud, but the then President tasked Netanyahu to form the government as there were far more center right MK than center left and his view was that was more likely to work.

One thing that has greatly changed Israel is the absorption of over a million Russian Jews in the 1980s/1990s. Part of the motivation was Israeli concern over demographics - as there was a higher birth rate on the part of Israeli Arabs than Israeli Jews. It was also concern that the Russian Jews were discriminated against. Many of these immigrants are now the settlers of the West Bank. At any rate, Israel moved from its left center Labor roots to the right. (Consider that the coalition of Livni's party and Labor did not take the Labor name (or anything associated with leftish democratic roots -- but Zionist Camp)

Next remember how angry many Israelis were every time Kerry spoke even very diplomatically about the Palestinian issues. One thing that became clearer in the Gaza War last year was that it became far harder to be both liberal and Zionist -- and, at least to my reading the left leaning Haaretz, many journalist were extremely shaken by realizing that they could no longer avoid seeing that a choice must be made.

To me, this brought back what I found nearly schizophrenic in Haaretz journalist Ari Shavit's Promise Land book. He patted himself on the back repeatedly in the book for giving clear descriptions of the Nakba (day of the catastrophe) when on the eve of the birth of Israel Arabs were killed or driven out of many areas of Israel AND arguing that unlike many liberals, he accepted that the Nakba was necessary to have the state of Israel that exists today. A similar disconnect occurs when he lists that the choices for Israel now included 3 that were completely unacceptable (ethnic cleansing (sending the Arabs out of all the land that would be Israel), appartheid, and democracy for all (not Zionist!) - leaving only the 2 state solution, but he argued they currently did not have the political will or the right leader to do this. Note this was someone who had been part of the peace movement decades ago.

This may explain why some Israeli Arab leaders, who are likely to again be in the Knesset questioned whether supporting the left center was better for them --- suggesting the starker unacceptableness of Netanyahu as better. The more I read on Israel, the less optimistic I become.

[Fantastic Anarchist]

22. Excellent post. n/t

[karynnj]

24. Thanks - I hope that if there are people knowing more (any Israelis), they will point out any errors

I have tried to read enough to understand, but I am very aware that it would be easy to get something completely wrong.

[Fantastic Anarchist]

25. It is very confusing.

I'm not Israeli, but know just a tiny bit about the process.

Can you expand a bit on this part?

This may explain why some Israeli Arab leaders, who are likely to again be in the Knesset questioned whether supporting the left center was better for them --- suggesting the starker unacceptableness of Netanyahu as better. The more I read on Israel, the less optimistic I become.

As I understand it, The Arab List (I can't recall the actual name) has indicated that they will not form a coalition with Kadima. I think I understand what you're trying to say - which is that they'll let Bibi continue his madness and hope for a backlash? Am I understanding that correctly?

I've also heard that very (as in hardcore) religious Muslims in Israel are likely to vote for Shas, as they share similar cultural values, though I can't vouch for the veracity of this.

[karynnj]

27. I was repeating just what one person was quoted as saying

- because to me it was counter intuitive because Netanyahu has behaved so badly towards them. Yes, unfortunately, it would be hoping for a backlash - that might not be triggered if the government was more moderate. ( Think back to the Nader supporter comments that it might take the worst President to cause people to move to the left -- that were largely rejected in this country. )

I think they have ruled out joining any government - including one with the Zionist Camp (the current name of the Herzog/Livni coalition - which is the center left party. Then again, neither Herzog or Livni specifically said they would move to include them -- which likely says a lot because they are likely to be one of the biggest blocks - not counting Likud and Zionist union. Just making a guess, I wonder if there are some who would not join if the Arabs did. (It would be weird if the first government to include a big Arab block was named Zionist Camp!)

[Fantastic Anarchist]

46. Thanks for asking clarification.

Yes, it would be quite weird.

[gregcrawford]

10. A classic example of the tail wagging the dog

We give Israel more aid - with zero strings - than any other country. Yet when it was revealed that the Mossad knew of the imminent attack on the Marines in Lebanon back in the 80's, but gave no warning, saying, "it's not our job to babysit the U.S.," nobody said a goddamned thing. Then when Israeli warships fired on the USS Eagle in international waters, lied about not seeing an American flag on the vessel, and just said "Oops. Our bad," nobody said a goddamned thing.

And now we have a frothing-at-the-mouth sociopath coming into the halls of Congress and insulting the U.S. and the President for not doing things HIS way, and we're supposed to just sit there and take it from this asshole? I don't think
so. Oh, and Boehner? You are SOOOO done.

I hope the people of Israel give Bibi the boot. He is a disturbed individual and a danger to their nation.

So there.

[father founding]

14. wrong ship

I think it was the USS Liberty.For those in the dark,http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Liberty_incident

[gregcrawford]

23. You're right. I stand corrected.

Thanks. The Eagle is a training square rigger that the U.S. acquired as reparations following WW I, if I'm not mistaken. But you know what I'm talking about here.

[TBF]

26. Yup. I can't stand Bibi.

enough with all the war-mongering already.

[LynneSin]

11. I heard the only game of cards the guy will play is WAR

[asiliveandbreathe]

15. This is what I want to hear from

ALL Democratic leaders - basically saying - NO MORE WAR - and NO Bibi, WE DO NOT REPORT TO YOU - WE REPORT TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE - enough nicey nice BS...

Democratic representatives need to mobilize their constituents AGAINST WAR - I'm done even trying to turn a rethug!

[sabrina 1]

28. 'Straight out of the Dick Cheney playbook'. Of course it was, Bibi is the ultimate Right Wing Neocon

and it's amazing to me that he ever received ANY support from ANY Democrat.

Happy to see the tide finally turning against this war mongering liar, who want's to use OUR military to go to war for HIM and his neocon buddies.

IF he wants a war with Iran, I believe he threatened to 'go it alone', well go right ahead, Bibi, without using our military to do so.

[ALBliberal]

29. Was Israel an active ally in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars? They sent combat troops in?

[hifiguy]

30. It is the ancient principle first articulated by J. Wellington Wimpy

in the old Elzie Segar Popeye comics: "Let's you and him fight."

[samsingh]

31. well said

[Cha]

33. Netanyahu and the US neoCons.. bibi in 2003.. same ol shite different year..

Donald Camp @donacamp Follow
6:42 AM - 3 Mar 2015 384 Retweets 103 favorites

http://theobamadiary.com/2015/03/03/keep-chatting-9/#comments

mahalo, kpete~ Good on Reps Jan Shchakowsky, Huffman, Yarmouth, and Blumenauer!

[R B Garr]

43. Great find, Cha! I saw a picture on Face the Nation

of Obama shaking hands with Netanyahu and he had an evil grin while looking at Obama that really angered me. How dare he disrespect a US President like that. What a mistake to make Israel a partisan wedge issue.

[Cha]

44. More on Bibi's shame.. "Netanyahu Invites Arab Diplomats to His Big Speech—and Gets Rejected"

http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2015/02/israel-netanyahu-dermer-arab-ambassadors-congress-speech/385982/

I hadn't heard that before just now..

Liar..



http://theobamadiary.com/2015/02/25/a-tweet-or-two-248/



Big Mistake, R B Garr!

[workinclasszero]

34. Bibi’s Never Seen a War He Doesn’t Want the U.S. to Fight

Thats for damn sure!

[Ed Suspicious]

35. Put him on the front lines and see if he's still so

enthusiastic.

[AngryDem001]

38. Better yet, put his KIDS on the front lines!

[Thespian2]

36. K&R

Bibi is an arse, upon which everything has sat, except a man.

Apologies to e e cummings.

[whereisjustice]

39. I just wish we didn't depend on Israel for our security... then we wouldn't have to take his shit

[whathehell]

42. Yes, exactly WHAT is it they do for us in return for that 1 mil a day we give them?

Sounds like we are the abused wiife in an extremely unhealthy marriage.

[Bohunk68]

48. It's over $8 million per day. Not counting the DOD's Black Budget. nt

[whathehell]

50. Great -- That makes being able to answer to that question

Last edited Thu Mar 5, 2015, 02:13 PM - Edit history (1)

all the more critical, I'd say.

[spanone]

40. in a nutshell.

[Initech]

41. It's like an elementary school student ratting out the bully to the teachers.

Iran is Nelson, Israel is Milhouse, and we're Mrs. Krabapple.

[rladdi]

45. The United States Military needs to bring back the draft before any new war

is started by the Republicans. We cannot put our current military back into war. We need a draft bill immediately to built up a new military and let them fight the war. Let those that want the USA into war, fight that war. Maybe put the Republicans on the front lines, beginning with the House and Senate Republicans no matter what their age is. They are war mongers. President Obama must demand a bill to draft new fighters. We cannot allow those that have fought for the last 12 years to fight again. We need new, fresh military. The people of the USA must demand this. Start a draft now.

[Kingofalldems]

49. Exactly why he should never be trusted.