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How Is Netanyahu's Speech to Congress a Violation of Protocol?

(Tablet) Liel Leibovitz - In the Calvin and Hobbes comics, Calvin enjoyed playing a very special game called "Calvinball," in which he made up the rules as he went along to make sure he was always winning. Reading the continuous coverage of Netanyahu's visit in the last few days makes you feel that the White House and its supporters are now playing their own version of Calvinball, called "protocol." President Obama said he would not meet with Netanyahu so close to the Israeli elections in March because that would be a violation of "protocol." Except that Netanyahu never asked for such a meeting. Instead, he was invited to address Congress by the speaker of the House of Representatives - just as he had been invited in 2011 by the very same man to address the very same branch of government without anyone mentioning the word "protocol." There are real issues at stake here. Netanyahu forswore an Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear facilities because of the stated commitment of the past two U.S. administrations to UN-approved sanctions whose stated goal was to eliminate Iran's capacity to build nuclear weapons. Now, it seems, American policy has swung 180 degrees in the opposite direction. Instead of eliminating Iran's nuclear weapons capabilities, the Iranians will be able to retain a large proportion of their centrifuges and facilities, while sanctions will be lifted - strengthening the current regime.
2015-02-13 00:00:00
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