Josh Rogin piece at Foreign Policy about where Obama’s advisers stand on Israel (all over the map, he states; I’m not buying) seems to rely on the usual suspects for insight into Obama’s braintrust. The quotations I bristle at are near the end, from worried outsiders and Israel supporters, and have the effect of making General James Jones look like an Israel-hater because he doesn’t line up behind Netanyahu. Jeez. Where do I live?
Add to that [conciliatory] line of thinking the National Security Council’s Dennis Ross, who due to his experience and inclination [former chairman of the Jewish People Policy Planning Institute in Jerusalem; yes that’s all over some map] is also said to be more focused on solving the dispute over Israel’s settlements. Yes, Ross argues for going a little easier on the Israelis than the other members of the team, the official said, but recent attacks on his loyalty to America from unnamed sources were way overblown.
Valerie Jarrett is another team member to watch. Two officials confirmed she is in almost all the meetings, although one official cautioned that doesn’t mean she has a foreign-policymaking decision role, per se.
…To the extent that Jones and Jarrett seem to have increasing clout with Obama, that worries outsiders who fear they are pushing him toward a tougher stance vis-à-vis Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu, who abruptly cancelled his plans to come to Washington next week for the nuclear summit.
And amid reports that Obama personally directed the harsh response to Netanyahu following the settlements dispute last month and the dressing down Netanyahu received at the Oval Office, Israel supporters worry that he is determined to make Netanyahu come to him.
