The unstated background of this Israel trip is fascinating

[cthulu2016]

Obama really could not visit Israel during his first term because Netanyahu would have staged stunts to make Obama look bad—casting his de facto vote for a 2012 candidate he felt more likely to bomb Iran (a Republican)

Now, still wanting to maximize the chance of a US President bombing Iran, and with Obama re-elected and serving a term that will extend beyond the time it would take Iran to get a bomb, Netanyahu has to play Obama's bestest friend in the world.

Same motive. (Maximize bombing Iran.)

Shifting method.

There is an old maxim that nations do not have allies, they have interests.

In the case of the USA toward Israel, however, that's not strictly true. Our approach to Israel is always driven as much by our domestic political dynamics as by our abstract national interest. It is a peculiarity because both of our two American parties see an overwhelming domestic political interest in support for Israel, so the political interests and national interests become almost indistinguishable.

Anyway... it is funny that whether a President visits a country is somewhat determined by that country's leadership's level of current interest in interfering with American domestic politics.

[leveymg]

1. Interesting, astute, and highly accurate. KNR

[cthulu2016]

5. well, thank you

[2naSalit]

2. Pretty much

spot on.

[geek tragedy]

3. I would say that our national interests and domestic

political interests are very much distinct. The problem is that our policy w/r/t Israel is exclusively driven by the latter at the expense of the former.

[cthulu2016]

4. .