From the transcript:
We are no longer scattered among the nations, powerless to defend ourselves. We restored our sovereignty in our ancient home. And the soldiers who defend our home have boundless courage. For the first time in 100 generations, we, the Jewish people, can defend ourselves.
So why is he in front of Congress, can we scale back all the military aid, and are we allowed to use our UNSEC veto to advance our best interests now or are we still the default Israeli veto?
Also, the wingnuts are treating this with their usual nuance:
Always with the fucking Hitler. And I’m assuming Josh Hammer is not, as you might suspect, a porn star pseudonym.
Wish I could find the website from back in the 2000’s that had a post up with Everyone Will Be Hitler for a Day.
JPL
Same topic, different post down stairs.
Boehner is handing over foreign policy to a leader of a middle eastern country. American exceptionalism at it’s best.
JPL
Also, Bibi is correct. They can defend themselves with equipment and armament that we supplied to them.
gogol's wife
@JPL:
I was in a diner in NYC one morning and a guy at the next table was screaming to his companion, “Israel can go it alone! It can always go it alone, it’s strong enough and doesn’t need anybody!” My husband restrained me from going over to the table to discuss how much American military aid Israel received each year.
beltane
By claiming that failure to cater to Israel’s every whim makes you a supporter of Hilter, Netanyahu trivializes the evils of the Nazi regime more effectively than a racist paleo-con like Pat Buchanan could ever do. If I didn’t know better, I’d think this man was a caricature dreamed up by the diseased mind of an anti-semite.
BGinCHI
Fear and war are good for Bibi’s business.
Always be closing.
I swear, everything that’s wrong with the world of politics can be summed up by “what they teach in Business School.”
beltane
@JPL: It used to be that the Republican party was a joke. Thanks to Boehner and Netanyahu, it’s now the United States itself that has become a pathetic object of ridicule. It does send the signal that the easiest way to defeat the US, is through lobbyist, not military, means.
JPL
Good news of the day
House passes a clean bill to fund Homeland Security
The best-known military commander of his generation, has reached a plea deal with the Justice Department and admitted providing his highly classified journals to a mistress when he was the director of the C.I.A.
How long before Petreaus appears on Fox news blaming Obama for his indiscretions.
kindness
If I were any good at photoshop I would happily Hitler mustache the entire Fox News lineup.
JPL
@beltane: I don’t think Boehner loves America
haha…
beltane
@JPL: The level of corruption in Congress constitutes a national security threat.
Here is a Dave Weigel post with some interesting anecdotes about Congress reps, joking about Miriam Adelson’s pocketbook and wondering how much cash she brought with her to the speech. http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-03-03/at-netanyahu-s-speech-scenes-from-the-amen-corner
smintheus
100 generations takes you back to at least 500 BCE; Israelites were not “scattered among the nations” at that time. This is the same guy who insisted a few years ago that Iran was only one year away from developing a nuclear weapon. Always fast and loose with his math.
Cacti
Bibi is prepared to defend Israel down to the last American soldier.
Keith
Anyone else remember the Mr. Show skit where every Jew got a Hitler clone as a slave?
trollhattan
@smintheus: Bibi’s using Friedman Units incorrectly, but using them nevertheless.
beltane
@smintheus: There were Jews living around the Mediterranean basin throughout recorded history. They were not “scattered”, anymore than the Phoenicians or Greeks were scattered, and it can certainly be argued that this type of cultural diversity and richness was one of sources of Jewish resiliency. Netanyahu has the type of one-dimensional view of history that is common among right wing ideologues of all backgrounds.
PurpleGirl
We give Israel all kinds of aid and, therefore, they can have socialized, government-paid medical care. We “can’t afford” to give our citizens even minimal medical care but Israel, sure as hell, can. Their ultra orthodox can have huge families and get government money, but we “can’t afford” to help even small families here. End aid to Israel. Bibi said they can take care of themselves… it’s time we let them.
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
A friend of mine has an Italian aunt who once bellowed about a thread on a forum:
The most interesting part about the aunt in the context of that comment is that she has a tattoo on her wrist.
Shakezula
Well, he’s reaffirmed the Left Behinders’ belief that Jews = Israel. Job done, time to go home.
Elie
@beltane:
Quite the contrary. I believe this was a desperate move by Bibi in a landscape of changing US priorities. Yes, the right wing and neocons will pander to Bibi for narrower, short term political motives, but things have changed and will continue to change. US has other fish to fry other than being a permanent force of occupation in the ME for Israel’s benefit so that they can keep employing the strategy that results in much of the turmoil in the ME – namely the settlements and the oppression of the Palestinians. Much better article about this here…
While this is a cold blooded appraisal, it pretty much nails what is going on writ large (in my opinion) and why Bibi felt compelled to do this outrageous thing.
Belafon
Right now, I think we have to manage Netanyahu to keep him from doing something like crazy. I’m pretty sure he’s thinking he could do what Israel did to Iran back in the 70s or 80s and nothing bad would happen.
smintheus
@beltane: I agree. But his comment clearly references the Roman-era diaspora.
beltane
@Elie: Thanks. The link is temporarily unavailable but I will be sure to check it out later.
Betty Cracker
Tee-hee.
another Holocene human
@JPL: bu bu bu Hillary! Private emails! Bengazzi!!11
boatboy_srq
That so sounds like an invitation to discontinue aid because Israel is now all growed up and able to fend for itself. The “we” is absolutely priceless: not like billions in US and European aid, munitions and other support had anything to do with it. I can’t imagine even Ben-Gurion, Begin or Sharon saying stuff like this and getting away with it.
catclub
Ted Cruz is still happy going for idiot vote – there are lots of them. “This is just like Chamberlain in 1938!!11!”
debbie
Well, Churchill was blatantly interfering in U.S. politics in the lead-up to WWII.
beltane
@smintheus: You would think, being the son of a historian, that Netanyahu might be a little more cautious about irritating the 21st century equivalent of Rome. However, we’re dealing with someone who most likely regards someone like Bar Kokhba as being a hero, not a sociopath who brought disaster to his people.
another Holocene human
@beltane: A population that was largely displaced during the 20th century in yet another sad chapter.
Jews self deporting to the Americas was the smartest move the tribe ever made and the ridiculousness of relocating to Palestine is made clearer every day.
catclub
@Belafon: Do you mean the bombing of the Iraqi (1976) and the Syrian (2007) reactors by Israel?
beltane
@Betty Cracker: That is the funniest thing I’ve seen all day.
Chris
@Elie:
I don’t think the landscape was changing much where Israel is concerned.
I do think Bibi may be unintentionally setting into motion the changes he fears, though, like many paranoid lunatics manufacturing their own enemies.
Chris
@another Holocene human:
This.
boatboy_srq
@PurpleGirl: Y’know, a solid argument against aid to Israel could be made with the Teahad if we made a point that the US is funding Israel’s JudeoSoshulist healthcare system.
boatboy_srq
@Betty Cracker: WIN.
beltane
@boatboy_srq: Even that quote is bullshit and insulting. My mother’s Jewish ancestors were from a small town in what was then Galicia, and is now Western Ukraine. They actually did create a small paramilitary force to protect themselves effectively from local Polish and Ukrainian anti-Semitic hooligans. It was, of course, no match for the Wehrmacht, but then again, very few military forces were effective against the Wehrmacht. Likewise, if the rest of the world was intent on destroying Israel, there is absolutely nothing they could do to prevent it.
Elie
@beltane:
Yeah, I saw that when I tried to check… I think its back up. Best read and understanding of the geopolitical realities that I have read in a long time. Still, as you and others say, a lot of room for mayhem from the usual suspects, but as the article implies, they can’t really do much about it…
schrodinger's cat
Why is it always Hitler and Churchill with these guys?
raven
@beltane: “here is absolutely nothing they could do to prevent it.” No but they can take a buncha million people with em.
NotMax
One man’s screed is another man’s Persian.
As the Mars Odyssey mission has detected some rich uranium deposits on the Red Planet, maybe Netanyahu can work on igniting a new space race to try to keep it away from you know who.
Elie
@Chris:
Oh no — it definitely is — though of course we will continue to support them with aid and they are a “friend” (ha) in the region… if the strategy moves to more balance, they would not be able to run the show as the US’s only strategic partner in the region… it would be one of several strategic partners…They want another 500K US troops parked there in the ME and that aint gonna happen again.. US interests must necessarily shift to our true economic and strategic competition — which is in the Pacific… like say China… We cant afford nor will we throw another 4 billion into the sewage pit of the ME where the sunnis and Israel have done it their way for way too long.
JPL
@beltane: I had immoral thoughts when I saw that pic.
Chris
@schrodinger’s cat:
Ironically, you could make a pretty good argument that people like Bibi’s obsession with Iran, at the expense of the far more bloody and immediate danger of Sunni jihadis like Daesh, mirrors the number of Westerners who initially downplayed the rise of fascism because they were still obsessed by the Red Menace, and thought fascism was, at worst, a distraction from the Real Threat and at best, a valuable ally against communism. And the same, last decade, for Bush’s obsession with Saddam Hussein at the expense of the Taliban, al-Qaeda, and their Pakistani and Persian Gulf sponsors and allies.
(Of course, this would require us to remember that anticommunism was even a factor in the rise of fascism, which I’m not hopeful of – “Neville Chamberlain appeased the Nazis because he was a pansy liberal appeaser” is just too convenient a narrative to be complicated beyond that).
Tommy
@schrodinger’s cat: Oh I don’t know. My grandparents who are no longer with us and served in WWII. I feel very safe saying they would view what we might see today as a far cry from what they stood up to.
JPL
@Elie: Bibi will start WWIII before he allows diplomacy between Iran and the U.S. If his ploy today doesn’t work, he’ll try another. Thanks for the link.
Chris
@Elie:
Good point. We’re not turning anti-Israel, just not playing the role they want us to in the region.
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
One of the panel on NPR after Bibi’s speech pointed out that the US has negotiated a number of nuclear treaties with some pretty nasty regimes, and never once have we insisted that they become Sweden as part of the deal.
canuckistani
@schrodinger’s cat:
If you only learn one lesson from history, you shoehorn every situation to fit it.
sharl
@Betty Cracker: THIS…IS…GODDAM…AWESOME! Stolen, screen-capped and tweeted, with link to your comment. (Lemme know if you don’t approve, in which case I’ll delete it.)
JPL
@Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism: haha.. That was a great line.
wasabi gasp
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBM8j9Na2ok
catclub
@Chris: only one of those villains that you mention had the tanks and Army that made them a threat against western powers, and that would be Hitler in 1938.
None of the others are serious threat to the US. Dangers, yes. Irritants, yes.
Important point that the west was too busy worrying about the red menace to better respond to the actual menace. The Bushes obviously thought we could do business with Hitler.
catclub
@NotMax:
I thought it was Abyssinians and Persians that looked alike.
Elie
@JPL:
I don’t think so. Really.
Mike in NC
Somebody needs to tell RedState that Rudy Giuliani is the “Churchill of our time”. Do they not love him anymore?
Rudy was always much closer to being “Mussolini in a baseball cap”.
beltane
Wow, Villager hack Gloria Borger has accused Netanyahui of “politicizing the Holocaust” http://www.mediaite.com/online/cnns-gloria-borger-netanyahu-politicized-the-holocaust/
boatboy_srq
@beltane: Not sure if you’re offended by Bibi, or by the suggestion of updating US aid to Israel to allow for its ability to defend itself (in order to watch wingnut heads explode).
beltane
@boatboy_srq: I am offended by Bibi. I have been offended by him since his vile campaign against Rabin in 1996. He has always been fascist scum as far as I’m concerned.
Elie
@beltane:
The MSM will be entertaining us with their various superficial and usually petty assessments for the next week or so until the next white woman disappears or ISIS beheads another white westerner. Gloria is another boring talking head with not much going on between her ears except the latest horse race context. She couldn’t do a real policy analysis. She doesn’t know what that is.
boatboy_srq
@beltane: Thanks. For a minute there your earlier comment sounded like my own take was the problem. I was especially offended by Bibi’s comment there, since it really sounds like he thinks some ragtag fugitive army stormed the beaches at Haifa and [re]created Greater Judea out of whole cloth, and that centuries of colonialism and decades of foreign aid propping up a new and precarious state weren’t a factor.
Chris
@catclub:
Oh, any analogy to Europe eighty years ago has to scale the whole thing down by an order of magnitude at least – there’s no existential threat to the West from any of the actors involved.
Roger Moore
@beltane:
Absolutely. I would also argue that being scattered- at least since the diaspora- has been a key to Jewish survival as a group. It’s made it impossible for any enemy- even Hitler- to get his hands on all the Jews at once. Even if Iran were to nuke Israel, they still wouldn’t wipe out Judaism, because there are enough Jews elsewhere in the world to keep Judaism and Jewish culture alive. Trying to get all the world’s Jews to move to Israel just seems like putting all your eggs in one basket.
Botsplainer
In some ways, I hope I live long enough to see video of survivors picking through the glowing rubble of Tel Aviv, the cutaways to sobbing Ultraorthodox refugees being evacuated from their illegal West Bank settlements to waiting evac ships parked at Haifa, the public trials and hangings of Likudnik cabinet members and MKs at the Wailing Wall for both their internal crimes and their inevitable war crimes.
That’s what Justice would look like.
D58826
@Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism: As I listened to Bibi describe the evil, lying monstrous country of Iran the thought occurred to me that during the cold war he could have given the same speech and just replaced the words Iran with USSR. Since the US (and yes even Ronulus the Magnificant) negotiated with the USSR I think we can negotiate with Iran
dmbeaster
@Chris:
Which is now constantly equated with being anti-semetic. And if Israel wants to do it alone contrary to our interests, then they ending the relatiomship.
They have been giving us the finger for 40 years with their ongoing seizure of Arab lands, and hardly treat us as friends.
agorabum
@Cacti: You know, since Iran is not actually going to attack Israel, you should change that to “Bibi is always ready to attack Iran with everything the US has got (just like with Iraq)”
LAC
@Betty Cracker: lol!!!!
rikyrah
@PurpleGirl:
Amen
Amen
Amen
El Caganer
Bibi might well be a Churchill for our time: http://www.theguardian.com/world/shortcuts/2013/sep/01/winston-churchill-shocking-use-chemical-weapons
maurinsky
@Keith: “Get used to it, Hitler.”
sm*t cl*de
Outremer is all that stands between you and the evil Seljuq Sultanate! Outremer is strong and self-sufficient and needs your money and troops and weapons!
Chris
@dmbeaster:
It’s been described as an abusive relationship by many, and I’m not sure that’s far wrong.
Morzer
All the comparisons between Bibi and Churchill work pretty well if you remember that pre-WW II Churchill was thought of as irresponsible, unprincipled and all too frequently deluded as to his real abilities.
Morzer
@PurpleGirl:
It would be morally wrong of us to patronize Israel by forcing a proud, independent people to accept money and weapons from us. It would be nearly as wicked as trying to impose publicly available healthcare on the rugged frontiersmen of Texas.
Chris
@Morzer:
IIRC, Churchill was a great man… for about half a decade from 1939 or 1940 to about 1945. There’s a reason the British voted him out of office pretty much as soon as the war was over.
Omnes Omnibus
@Chris: Not really. Churchill was a great man. His flaws, though, were as great as his abilities. It should be remembered that he had a significant part in the major Liberal reforms of the first part of the 20th century in Britain.
seaboogie
@JPL: One would think that Israel, positioned amidst unstable Islamic states, would be a lot more strategic and be able to develop a nuanced view of what is really happening in such a volatile situation, but NO – you have another megalomaniac politician who wants to keep power, stokes the risible rubes in Israel, and stokes our crazy “End Times” rubes here to pay for it. Israel’s victim card is way past it’s “sell-by” date. And everyone dealing with “biblical” referernces may be understood to be dealing entirely dishonestly, and even cravenly….