Kredo: Obama “Solid” on U.S.-Israel Security Relationship; “Taken it to New Heights”

David Streeter — August 4, 2011 – 5:59 pm | Barack Obama | Israel | Military Comments (0) Add a comment

Washington Jewish Week’s Adam Kredo wrote today that President Barack Obama’s actions to bolster Israel’s security have “simply been solid” and elevated the U.S.-Israel security relationship to new heights. Kredo wrote:

On this front, the facts can’t be disputed: Obama has brought the U.S.-Israel military relationship to new heights….

Rep. Steve Rothman (D-N.J.)—a longtime pro-Israel stalwart who sits on the powerful House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee—published his own defense of the Obama administration.

Rothman focused heavily on military intelligence cooperation—an issue he has long been touting.

Rothman hammered the point in his recent op-ed (he was one of the first to use this approach):

Concerning military and intelligence cooperation - ‘where the rubber meets the road,’ where issues speaking to Israel’s very existence hang in the balance—the relationship has never been stronger.

I spotted a similar PR shift in this pro-Obama fact sheet, which was recently assembled by the National Jewish Democratic Council:

* Obama restored Israel’s qualitative military edge and took U.S. military cooperation to unprecedented levels after erosion during the Bush Administration.

* President Obama worked with Democratic leaders in the House and Senate to appropriate $2.8 billion for direct assistance to Israel’s security. This is the largest amount given to Israel in U.S. history specifically allocated for Israel’s security apparatus.

* Obama has provided more security assistance to Israel than any president in history. He has created an unprecedented level of military cooperation between the United States and Israel.

You see what NJDC did here? Military cooperation is the lead item, and rightly so. There’s no room for debate; Obama’s record stands on its own.

As JTA’s Ron Kampeas, a veteran observer of the Jewish community, put it recently on Twitter: ‘No argument, Bush better loved, [especially] for diplomacy [and] closeness. But my job is whole picture. On tachlis, Obama gets the points.’ (I brushed this up for clarity)

Kampeas is saying that, when it comes to the substance, mainly military assistance, Obama wins—despite being perceived by many as less supportive of Israel than George W. Bush….

When it comes to the U.S.-Israel military relationship, though, there’s no need for spin: Obama has simply been solid.

Comments

There are no comments for this entry