Netanyahu Cancels Trip to U.S. for Nuclear Summit

[Scurrilous]

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"Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu canceled a planned trip to attend a nuclear summit in the U.S. next week, an Obama administration spokesman said.

Dan Meridor, minister of intelligence and atomic energy, will replace Netanyahu at the conference, said Mike Hammer, a spokesman for President Barack Obama’s National Security Council. The U.S. official’s statement didn’t give a reason for the cancellation.

“Israel is a close ally and we look forward to continuing to work closely on issues related to nuclear security,” Hammer said.

Netanyahu decided not to attend the summit when it become apparent that it was going to be used as a vehicle by some countries to attack Israel for not being a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, an Israeli government official said in a phone interview. The official was speaking on condition of anonymity because the government has not publicly commented on Netanyahu’s cancellation.

Israel has neither confirmed nor denied that it has nuclear weapons. In 1986 an Israeli nuclear plant technician was imprisoned for telling a U.K. newspaper that Israel had at least 100 nuclear warheads, and in 2006 then-Prime Minister Ehud Olmert included Israel in a list of countries with nuclear weapons during a television interview."

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Dept. of Huh?

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"Benjamin Netanyahu bailed on the nuclear summit because he realized at the last minute that Muslims would make a stink about Israel's nuclear arsenal?

How is this remotely credible? Muslim and Arab nations never fail to make a stink about Israel's nuclear capability.

Either someone's fibbing, or Israel's intelligence is lacking in more ways than one.

Laura Rozen has the statement, and so does Y Net:

"In the last 24 hours, the Israeli government has learned of various reports from various sources on the intention of several states attending the conference not only to deal with the issue at hand, but to take the opportunity to make a point of grand-standing against Israel and the issue of the NPT," the Israeli official said was the explanation for Netanyahu cancelling his trip, referring to the nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.

"The prime minister was dismayed at this, and decided to stick to the Israeli policy that Israel is usually represented at these types of conferences at the professional-ministerial level. As such, Deputy Prime Minister Dan Meridor and a professional team will come to Washington to attend the conference," the official said.

Also Bibi just remembered, he's allergic to cherry blossoms."

http://blogs.jta.org/politics/article/2010/04/08/1011500/dept-of-hu