BHO's Nightmare: Israel Protects Itself By Itself.....................by Dan Friedman

If there is a theme flowing through Obama’s relationship with Israel, it’s his attempt to blunt Israel’s ability to take unilateral action against clear and present dangers that arise in its own neighborhood. There isn’t much argument that Obama has backed Israel into a corner when it comes to Iran – and that was his intent. Now comes another instance of the same policy that reinforces the belief that neutering Israel is an involuntary response that’s innate and bound up in Obama’s DNA.

The revolution in Syria has brought the issue of Syria’s chemical weapons into sharp relief. And Israel has made plain it’s keeping a close eye on the situation and is prepared to intervene if that becomes necessary. As if on cue, that has spurred talks with Obama’s worried emissaries whose cover story is “close coordination” with Israel. In reality that translates to “we need to get inside Israel’s head so we can stop it from doing anything that might upset the status quo and make Obama look bad.”

One would like to think that Israel’s leadership, already burnt by Iran, understands Obama’s nature by now and has made the necessary adjustments to protect its own hide without asking him for permission. But given Netanyahu’s (and Ehud Barak’s) track record to date, plus the Jewish people’s proven capacity for self-destruction, that hope might just be wishful thinking.