One of Israeli leader Ariel Sharon's widely quoted statements has him say, “We, the Jewish people control America, and the Americans know it.” Even though Israeli officials and pro-Israeli elements in US media have maintained that no such statement has ever been made by Sharon on an Israeli radio show on Oct. 3, 2001, Israel's former prime minister never tried to deny or disown the statement attributed to him. Such was the persistence of the rumor that US invaded Iraq to ensure Israel's security that President George W. Bush had to state that no such consideration played any part in his decision. In any case, by openly saying that they were for US military action against Iran first, some Israeli officials candidly admitted what the general public in US and outside already knew: The relationship between US and Israel is so “special” that a small client state can make a great power do anything for it including fighting as a proxy! So even if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu changes his mind and decides not to address a joint session of the US Congress tomorrow, he has already made his point clear. Netanyahu has made no secret of the purpose of his mission: To lobby against Obama's diplomacy with Iran, because any nuclear deal with Tehran is an “existential threat” to Israel. That is why he accepted the invitation of the House Speaker John Boehner, a Republican, over objections from the White house. Just imagine the leader of a third country visiting America and asking US lawmakers to defeat the diplomatic initiative of their president, an initiative in which he has invested so much of his prestige and has the support of all the permanent members of the Security Council! Yet the feeble objections in American political establishment and media to this visit is not that this is an affront to the sovereignty of America and the office of its president. They are worried that by accepting an invitation from a Republican-dominated Congress, Netanyahu may undermine the bipartisan nature of America's support to Israel! White House, surprisingly, is publicly characterizing the dispute as an issue of timing, giving the impression that President Barack Obama would have met Netanyahu but for the fact that his visit was too close to the Israeli election and his talks with the Israeli leader could create the appearance of interfering in the vote. "As much as I love (German Chancellor) Angela (Merkel), if she were two weeks from an election, she probably would not have received an invitation to the White House," President Obama said at a joint news conference on Feb. 9. But Obama knows Merkel is not Netanyahu and Germany is not Israel. So Obama is not taking any chances. He is sending his National Security Advisor Susan Rice and UN Ambassador Samantha Power to join the more than 16,000 people attending the Policy Conference of American Israeli Pubic Affairs Committee (AIPAC) today. Netanyahu will address the conference. Vice President Joe Biden, who in his role as president of the Senate would have been seated at the rostrum during Netanyahu's Congress speech, has an excuse not to attend as he has previously announced travel plans. But more than two dozen Democratic members of Congress who have said that they will not attend the speech may invite the wrath of the AIPAC, the lobby that can make and unmake lawmakers. In short, all the decks are stacked against those who oppose Netanyahu's appearance before the Congress. He may derive much electoral advantage by demonstrating that he can stand up to a US president. He might even succeed in altering the deal with Iran in all substantial aspects. Netanyahu's office had already given Israeli journalists sensitive details of the US position on the deal, including a US offer to allow Iran to enrich uranium with 6,500 or more centrifuges as part of a final agreement. This shows there is exchange of sensitive information between US and Israel about the Iran talks. If something goes wrong with the deal and US, under Israeli pressure, decides to impose more sanctions, more Democrats will support the measure as a penance for deciding to boycott Netanyahu's Congress speech. In any case, the ultimate winner will be Netanyahu, not Obama. After all, “America is a thing you can move very easily, move it in the right direction,” as the Israeli leader arrogantly told right-wing West Bank settlers in a private meeting sometime back.
