Jack2014 wrote:
It's now becoming clear that Netan-yahoo totally plays politics of the worst kind when dealing with the US. He converts willing repuglica$$es to traitors on a whim undermining US policy with stupids help like boner.
Morning Mix
Report: Israel spied on Iran-U.S. talks and shared information with lawmakers
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By Fred Barbash and Brian Murphy March 24 at 5:27 AM
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu greeted supporters at the partys election headquarters in Tel Aviv on March 18. (Oded Balilty/AP)
UPDATE: President Obama addressed the report on Tuesday. Head here for more.
Israel obtained sensitive information about the nuclear talks between Iran and the United States and turned it over to members of Congress, the Wall Street Journal is reporting. The insider details came from confidential briefings from U.S. officials as well as from informants, diplomatic contacts in Europe and eavesdropping, the paper said.
Citing current and former officials, the paper said the spying operation was part of a broader campaign by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus government to penetrate the negotiations and then help build a case against the emerging terms of the deal.
Boehner 'not aware' of information passed from Israelis to Congress(0:49)
While addressing members of the media Tuesday, House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) said he was "baffled" by a report alleging Israel shared intelligence on the U.S. and Iran with members of Congress. (AP)
The Journal, in its Tuesday edition, reported the espionage did not concern the White House as much as Israels sharing of inside information with U.S. lawmakers and others to drain support for a possible deal with Iran to rein in Tehrans nuclear program in exchange for easing of international sanctions.
The White House learned of the operation, the paper reported, when U.S. intelligence agencies intercepted communications among Israeli officials that carried details the U.S. believed could have come only from access to the confidential talks, officials briefed on the matter said.
Israel denied the charges, according to the Journal, which quoted a senior official in Netanyahus office calling the allegations utterly false.
But the Journal said its story was based on interviews with more than a dozen officials, including Israeli diplomats, intelligence officials and lawmakers.
Relations between the administration of President Obama and the government of Israel have become openly hostile since Netanyahu accepted an invitation from House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) to address the U.S. Congress earlier this month.
The chill deepened during Netanyahus come-from-behind election victory last week. Just before the vote with polls showing Netanyahus Likud party trailing Netanyahu reached out to his right-wing base by appearing to reject the possibility of a Palestinian state. On election day, he then appealed to his backers to cast ballots to counter droves of Arab Israeli voters who likely supported his challenger.
Netanyahu later tried to massage his stance on the the so-called two-state solution the cornerstone of peace efforts led by Washington by saying he could support the idea if the regions security situation improved in the future. He also sought to calm anger among Israels Arab population. But a prominent Arab-Israeli politicians, Ahmed Tibi, said Tuesday that many rejected Netanyahus outreach as not an honest apology.
If the Journals story is accurate, there were plenty of other reasons for the tension as well.
It quoted a senior U.S. official briefed on the matter, saying that it is one thing for the U.S. and Israel to spy on each other. It is another thing for Israel to steal U.S. secrets and play them back to U.S. legislators to undermine U.S. diplomacy.
On Monday, the White House chief of staff, Denis McDonough, reinforced the predictions that the Obama administration could be making recalculations in its dealings with Netanyahu.
We cannot simply pretend that these comments were never made, McDonough said.
In a speech to J Street, a Washington-based Israel advocacy group that is critical of Netanyahu, McDonough said Israel faced total isolation from the international community if it refuses to consider ending an occupation that has lasted more than 50 years in Palestinian lands.
Talks over Irans nuclear program are scheduled to resume later this week in Switzerland in a final push to reach a general framework before a self-imposed March 31 deadline.
Details of the possible deal have not been made public, but among the chief aims is seeking to limit and closely monitor Irans uranium enrichment capacities as part of efforts to keep Tehran from moving toward a nuclear weapon.
The West and its allies worry that Iran could one day upgrade its production of nuclear fuel to make material for an atomic weapon. Iran insists it only seeks reactors for energy production and isotopes for medical applications.
WHATS NEXT. Israel gives Iran a Nuc to prove they have one?
It's now becoming clear that Netan-yahoo totally p... (
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Obama bombs help Iran fighters.