Israel has isolated itself by its own actions, Robert Gates says 11Jan14 January 11, 2014
by Phil Weiss and Adam Horowitz   -   MONDOWEISS   -   10 January 2014
You canât buy Robert Gatesâs new book till January 14, but coverage of the former Defense Secretaryâs memoir has included several of his perceptions re the U.S.-Israel relationship.
From the New York Times review by Michiko Kakutani
Regarding the Bush administration, the most compelling parts of this book concern Iran and Mr. Gatesâs worries about âthe influence of the Israelis and the Saudisâ on the White House, particularly the Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert and King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and âtheir shared desire to have problems like Iran âtaken care ofâ while Bush was still president.â Mr. Gates repeatedly warned of the dangers of âlooking for another warâ when America was already at war in Iraq and Afghanistan. At one point, he says, he was so worried that Mr. Bush might be persuaded by Vice President Dick Cheney and Mr. Olmert âto act or enable the Israelis to actâ (that is, to take military action to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon) that he made an intense private call to Mr. Bush in which he argued âwe must not make our vital interests in the entire Middle East, the Persian Gulf and Southwest Asia hostage to another nationâs decisions â no matter how close an ally.â
Tony Capaccio has more on that influence question, at Bloomberg:
Israel didnât oppose a $60 billion U.S. arms sale to Saudi Arabia [in 2010], in part because the Pentagon agreed to sell the Israelis at least 20 new Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT) F-35 jets, according to the new book by Robert GatesâŚ
A series of meetings with Gates, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Prime Minister Benjamin âBibiâ Netanyahu resulted in a working group to ensure that the Saudi sale didnât erode Israelâs âqualitative military edgeâ against its Arab neighbors. Maintaining that edge is a long-standing U.S. foreign policy objective.
More from Bloomberg coverage:
In the book, Gates also has some criticism for Israel. âI believe Israelâs strategic situation is worsening, its own actions contributing to its isolationâ he wroteâŚ.When Netanyahu âcomplained about the number of F-15s the Saudis would be buying or upgrading, I pointedly asked him, âWhen did Saudi Arabia ever attack Israel? How long would those planes continue to work without U.S. support?ââ Gates wrote.
According to Gates, Netanyahu responded by asking, âWhat about a counterbalancing investment in our military? How do we compensate on the Israeli side?â
Gates wrote: âExasperated, I shot back that no U.S. administration had done more, in concrete ways, for Israelâs strategic defense than Obamaâs.â
âI used the line that the enemy of my enemy is my friend,â Gates wrote. Netanyahu âreplied acidly, âIn the Middle East, the enemy of my enemy is my frenemy.ââ
Thank You.