Letters: The Netanyahu-Obama realtionship

Re “Snubbed by Obama?,” Opinion, Sept. 30

David Aaron Miller’s apology for Obama not meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week is a clear indication of how Obama views Israel’s predicament of not knowing what the U.S. will do regarding Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Although the U.S. and the world would be adversely affected by a nuclear-armed Iran, Israel is more immediately and directly affected.

The world castigated Israel for bombing Iraq’s nuclear reactor in 1981, but many leaders later came to believe Israel did the right thing. Israel should be able to make its own life-and-death decisions, and meeting with Netanyahu at his request to coordinate should be an obvious choice, though perhaps not to Obama.

It is unfortunate that Israel faces this situation during Obama’s presidency.

Albert Weinstein

Rancho Palos Verdes

Miller describes the relationship between the United States, Israel and Egypt as essential to U.S. interests in the Middle East. He notes that we look to Israel and Egypt for “support, forbearance and, at times, restraint and understanding.” I didn’t expect a lot from Egypt after Anwar Sadat’s rule, but I cannot recall Israel ever responding with the forbearance or restraint to our requests that could have led to peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

Perhaps Obama isn’t snubbing Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi or Netanyahu, but is instead trying to be an honest broker.

John R. Shiban

Westlake Village

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