Source: wtvr.com - Tuesday, March 03, 2015
WASHINGTON — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday has further strained an already tense relationship with President Barack Obama. And a number of top Democrats — including Vice President Joe Biden, whose job description includes the title President of the Senate — won’t be attending. Virginia Senator Tim Kaine is among the Democrats who will be absent from Netanyahu’s speech. In a January letter to House Speaker John Boehner, Senator Kaine explained his absence: As a long-time supporter of the U.S-Israel relationship, I believe the timing of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s address to Congress – just days before Israeli elections – is highly inappropriate. On January 30, I delivered a letter to Speaker Boehner asking that the speech to Congress be postponed so that there was no appearance of U.S. favoritism in a foreign election. There is no reason to schedule this speech before Israeli voters go to the polls on March 17 and choose their own leadership. I am disappointed that, as of now, the speech has not been postponed. For this reason, I will not attend the speech. Netanyahu is expected to use Tuesday’s speech to sharply criticize the White House’s efforts to negotiate a deal on Iran’s nuclear program and to urge Congress to pass new sanctions on the nation, a position that puts him sharply at odds with the president. On Tuesday, National Security Adviser Susan Rice said Netany
from Top News on RSS Feeds http://ift.tt/1M4DeOG
WASHINGTON — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday has further strained an already tense relationship with President Barack Obama. And a number of top Democrats — including Vice President Joe Biden, whose job description includes the title President of the Senate — won’t be attending. Virginia Senator Tim Kaine is among the Democrats who will be absent from Netanyahu’s speech. In a January letter to House Speaker John Boehner, Senator Kaine explained his absence: As a long-time supporter of the U.S-Israel relationship, I believe the timing of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s address to Congress – just days before Israeli elections – is highly inappropriate. On January 30, I delivered a letter to Speaker Boehner asking that the speech to Congress be postponed so that there was no appearance of U.S. favoritism in a foreign election. There is no reason to schedule this speech before Israeli voters go to the polls on March 17 and choose their own leadership. I am disappointed that, as of now, the speech has not been postponed. For this reason, I will not attend the speech. Netanyahu is expected to use Tuesday’s speech to sharply criticize the White House’s efforts to negotiate a deal on Iran’s nuclear program and to urge Congress to pass new sanctions on the nation, a position that puts him sharply at odds with the president. On Tuesday, National Security Adviser Susan Rice said Netanyfrom Top News on RSS Feeds http://ift.tt/1M4DeOG
Aucun commentaire:
Enregistrer un commentaire