US-Israel relationship ‘as bad as ever,’ Rumsfeld says
Former US secretary of defense Donald Rumsfeld has sharply criticized the Obama administration for damaging Washington’s relations with Tel Aviv, saying the relationship is as bad as ever.
"The relationship between the United States and Israel today is probably as bad as ever in my adult lifetime,” he said during an interview with Newsmax on Thursday.
He added that "the conscious decision by this administration” to create a difficult, strained, and tense relationship between the US government and Israel is “a big mistake.”
The ties between the United States and Israel appeared to plunge to a new low this week after White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Tel Aviv issued inaccurate information about Washington’s position in nuclear talks with Tehran.
“There's no question that some of the things that the Israelis have said in characterizing our negotiating position have not been accurate. There's no question about that,” Earnest told reporters.
Earnest said Israel is "cherry-picking" intelligence information that distorts the US position.
This is while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to address the US Congress on March 3 to persuade American lawmakers to put further sanctions against Iran while nuclear negotiations are under way.
House Speaker John Boehner invited Netanyahu to the United States without consulting President Barack Obama.
President Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, and Secretary of State John Kerry would not meet with the Israeli leader during his next month’s trip.
A number of Democrats announced that they would skip the controversial speech by Netanyahu.
However, Rumsfeld defended the upcoming address.
"Congress is a separate and co-legal, equal branch of government. They ought to be able to invite people to come and speak there, which they do. I was a former member and I see nothing wrong with that," Rumsfeld said.
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