The Bibi Bomb

On the eve of "Republican Senator from West Jerusalem" and Israeli Prime Minister Bibi "Bomb Bomb" Netanyahu's speech to Congress, we're hearing more criticism:

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) knocked Netanyahu for suggesting that he represents all Jewish people on the topic of Iran. 

“He doesn’t speak for me on this,” Feinstein said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “I think it’s a rather arrogant statement. I think the Jewish community is like any other community. There are different points of view. I think that arrogance does not befit Israel, candidly.” (our emphasis)

Well, count that as one "hawk" showing displeasure.  Clearly, though, Bibi thinks he's playing a smart game, coming to Washington to undercut the President, something he's never tried before... What?

Three times in the past 20 years, an Israeli prime minister has headed into an election while openly battling a U.S. president. The first two times the incumbent lost, establishing the Israeli political maxim that endangering relations with Washington was ruinous. In 1999, the loser was Benjamin Netanyahu, who calculated, wrongly, that he could outmaneuver President Bill Clinton by appealing to Congress. Remarkably, a politician known for his caution has now bet his career, and the future of the U.S.-Israel alliance, on the same strategem.  (our emphasis)

Well, at least he's shoring up his cred in Israel, which is his true audience given the election in a few weeks:

When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers his apocalyptic message to Congress on Iranian nukes on Tuesday, he will seem the personification of the Israeli hawk. 

But back home in Israel, where I’ve been reporting for the last two weeks, there’s a strong sense even among hard-liners that Netanyahu has blown Israeli foreign policy and is making his nation weaker by imperiling its relationship with its most critical patron, the United States.  (our emphasis)

We realize there are plenty of Israelis who support what Bibi is up to, as well as a certain noxious "independent" American pol.  But we have no doubt that Bibi's cynical gambit, aligning himself to the bumbling, ineffective Republican Weeper of the House John Boehner (Eunuch-OH), is going to have a lasting negative impact on U.S.-Israel relations.  Bibi's intention isn't to affect American policy in the Iran nuclear negotiations;  it's only to burnish an image of him as "protector of the Jewish people," one that he's manufactured in the aftermath of the Paris and Copenhagen terrorist attacks.  He' already been shown to be a liar when it comes to the Iranian nuclear program.

It's an election cycle so it's all about Bibi.

BONUS:  This comprehensive look at what Bibi Bomb Bomb is up to is worth a read.

(Photo:  Boehner and Bibi, a.k.a., Alphonse and Gaston)