Bibi's Bomb-bastic Bluff

In our recent post about the smear campaign being waged by neocons against Secretary of Defense nominee Chuck Hagel, we noted that there are parallels between the political systems in the U.S. and in Israel. The current Israeli government is dominated by the right-wing Likud Party, which has close ties with the neocon/Rethuglican establishment here in the U.S.

U.S. neocons, of course, can't get enough of saber-rattling or foreign wars, especially if they involve Muslim countries. They hold the Defense Department's budget sacrosanct, even as top military officers argue for a leaner, smarter fighting force. Now, we see that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is being accused by former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of building up Israel's first strike capability against Iran primarily for the purpose of provoking U.S. action against Iran. According to the Daily Beast:

"[Olmert] said the extra spending was designed to make the United States believe that Israel genuinely intended to attack Iran’s nuclear program. Netanyahu hoped the perception would prod President Obama, who opposes an Israeli strike, to organize tighter sanctions against Iran and take action of his own to prevent it from crossing the nuclear threshold.

'The general opinion of those that were involved [in the preparations] was that this was much more about rhetoric and less about a real determination to activate it,' Olmert told The Daily Beast."

It's probably also true that the Israeli defense industry, much like ours, leans strongly right, so infusions of large sums of money -- "weapons welfare" if you will -- for the Israeli defense industry helps the Likud also. It's interesting how similar it is here in the U.S., with Rethugs benefitting from defense industry campaign contributions as the defense budget grows.

A Familiar Tactic

Something vaguely familiar is going on in international politics, specifically regarding the Israeli-Palestinian problem: obstructionism. As with their right-wing Rethug/neocon friends in Washington on domestic policy, Israel's ruling right-wing Likud coalition government is determined to obstruct any efforts by the Obama Administration to get talks restarted between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Last week, during Vice President Biden's visit, the Israeli government announced the creation of 1600 new housing units in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, despite strong, longstanding U.S. opposition. Secretary of State Clinton blasted Likudnik Prime Minister Netanyahu for the "insulting move." It's also being reported that no less a hero of the Rethugs than Gen. Petraeus is warning about the increasingly toxic effect that actions by Israel's right-wing government are having on our relations throughout the region.

As the Obama Administration reacted negatively to the intentional slap from Israel, the Likud's American auxiliary swung into action, as noted at Think Progress. Joe Lieberliar, Wee Willie Kristol and their fellow neocons can always be counted on to blame America first, when it comes to problems in relations with Israel.

UPDATE: Glenn Greenwald has an extensive run-down on the issue of neocon loyalty to Israel first.