Mr Netanyahu "Expects"

Goldblog is on fire:

I was ... taken aback when I read a statement from Prime Minister Netanyahu yesterday that he "expects to hear a reaffirmation from President Obama of U.S. commitments made to Israel in 2004, which were overwhelmingly supported by both House of Congress."

So Netanyahu "expects" to hear this from the President of the United States? And if President Obama doesn't walk back the speech, what will Netanyahu do? Will he cut off Israeli military aid to the U.S.? Will he cease to fight for the U.S. in the United Nations, and in the many  international forums that treat Israel as a pariah?

I don't like this word, "expect." Even if there weren't an imbalance between these two countries -- Israel depends on the U.S. for its survival, while America, I imagine, would continue to exist even if Israel ceased to exist -- I would find myself feeling resentful about the way Netanyahu speaks about our President.

My hope, for what it's worth, is to protect the possibility of a majority Jewish state to survive with its capital in Jerusalem for ever. I'm a Zionist. Always have been. And strongly so. I think Obama is doing his best to bring it about, primarily because it is America's interest, but also because it is in Israel's. And despite the hysteria from the Fox-Likud fringe, Obama's words yesterday toward the Palestinians were stark, essentially putting Abbas on the spot on the Hamas charter, for example. And yet this leader of a foreign government thinks he can essentially dictate terms for an American president and attempt to corral the US Congress to side explicitly with a foreign leader over the American president in foreign policy.

Don't push your luck, Bibi. Others have with Obama and they have learned that he is often more canny than they are with political jujitsu. Obama's usual tactic: gently and subtly prompting his foes to self-destruct. I just hope that in this critical juncture in the Middle East, Netanyahu doesn't take his country with him.