The tension between President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu over the latter’s having accepted an invitation from House Speaker John Boehner to address Congress – without clearing it with the White House – should not be allowed to obscure the real issues here.
There is a real crisis brewing now that it appears the U.S. is apparently willing to accept a deal that will allow Iran to remain as a threshold nuclear power, able to turn to weapons production in the space of weeks.
Although the Boehner invitation to Mr. Netanyahu is bringing this to the fore, the likelihood of such a deal is of great concern to many of Iran’s neighbors and will likely trigger an arms race involving nations such as Saudi Arabia who are petrified at the prospect of a nuclear Iran.
In addition, the talks have come to their current status because Iran is refusing to budge and the U.S. doesn’t seem in a hurry to force Iran to make concessions. Indeed, the administration is said to be adamant that there be no new sanctions placed on Iran while the negotiations continue, in order not to anger the Iranians. This squeamishness on the part of the U.S. cannot but encourage the Iranians in their recalcitrance and expectation that ultimately they will come out ahead in any deal that is struck.
Prime Minister Netanyahu is reportedly prepared to forcefully and dramatically make the case to Congress of the need to ensure through legislation that the administration not be permitted to give away the store. And therein lies another important part of the tale.
Drawing Congress into the Iran nuclear debate is the last thing the White House wants. The administration continues to strive mightily to keep all decision-making authority on any deal in the president’s hands. In fact, Mr. Obama tried to get legislation that would effectively bypass any role for Congress.
Perhaps there are legitimate protocol issues when a foreign leader comes to the U.S. to address Congress without first running it by the president. But this sounds like a trivial concern given the enormity of the issue at hand. It seems clear to us that Mr. Obama envisions a world that will just have to get used to a nuclear Iran. So an increasingly frustrated Mr. Netanyahu rightly sees Congress as his only option as he continues to sound the alarm.