BIBI WATCH: Obama Says Netanyahu Speech Not ‘Permanently Destructive’

United States President Barack Obama speaks at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to highlight steps by his Administration and the private sector to improve security with more secure technologies that better se... United States President Barack Obama speaks at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to highlight steps by his Administration and the private sector to improve security with more secure technologies that better secure transactions and safeguard sensitive data, Friday, October 17, 2014 in Washington, DC. Credit: Olivier Douliery / Pool via CNP - NO WIRE SERVICE - Photo by: Olivier Douliery/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images MORE LESS
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President Obama on Monday said that the controversy surrounding Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to Congress is a distraction, but will not hurt the United States’ relationship with Israel in the long run.

“I don’t think it’s permanently destructive. I think that it is a distraction from what should be our focus,” Obama told Reuters in a Monday interview.

He noted that there’s “substantial disagreement” between the U.S. and Israeli governments over Iran’s nuclear program, the subject of Netanyahu’s speech.

Obama reiterated that he will not meet with Netanyahu during his visit to the U.S. due to the upcoming Israeli elections, and that he would meet with the prime minister after the March 17 election.

“This is not a personal issue. I think that it is important for every country in its relationship with the United States to recognize that the U.S. has a process of making policy,” Obama said.

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  1. Well, that’s nice but the real question on everybody’s mind is: ‘How will Bill O’Reilly lie about going?’

  2. This is a president who is generous, enlightened and understands the nature of news cycles. Big trouble in the media today, tomorrow not so much.,

  3. “This is not a personal issue. I think that it is important for every country in its relationship with the United States to recognize that the U.S. has a process of making policy,” Obama said.

    Maybe he should hold a seminar about how we make policy and invite both Bibi and Boehner. Neither of them seems to have a clue.

  4. He’ll tell us about being on the ship Exodus in 1947 which took Holocaust survivors to an unwilling Palestine and he met Bibi’s mom who told him her son would one day be Prime Minister. . . something, something.

  5. That’s a nice little dig.
    Its not permanently destructive, just temporarily foolish and hurtful. Hopefully our two nations relationship with each other is strong enough to withstand the damage that Netanyahu and Boener are intentionally foisting upon us, says the Prez.

    As President and by virtue of being the most powerful man in the world, I President Barack Obama vow to weather this storm and personally guide all of us to better days despite these ill winds and petty games.

    Have no fear, the Iran situation is well in hand, no matter PM Netanyahu’s seemingly endless attempts to ruin progress and our own crazy right wing also too.

    B H Obama

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