Eric Cantor: 'Obama, Stop Bullying Israel!'

Bintel Blog:

After the Biden flap and the inevitable theatrics of an Administration claiming to have been offended by the timing of announcing another 1,600 homes in E.J'sem, as sure as night follows day, pro-Zionist forces in Holy Land II are already warning Obama and co. to take it easy. The US's perennial and delicate damsel in distress lives in a 'dangerous neighborhood' and shouldn't be pressured too much! And the bond between both Holy Lands is after all 'unshakable' and 'unbreakable'...

Now if you're a real US pro-Zionist scoundrel what better tactic than to invoke the magic words 'US National Security', that one-size-fits-all figleaf?

And so we have House Minority Whip Eric Cantor phoning White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel on March 15 — asking him to convey to his bosses the message that it is time to ease pressure on Israel.

“The administration needs to reduce the level of its rhetoric,” Cantor said in an interview with the Forward, “I don’t think that the notion of us telling Israel what is best for its security is a good one.”

Cantor and several other Republican lawmakers have criticized the administration’s tough stance on Israel in light of the dispute over the Jewish state’s approval of another 1,600 homes in contested East Jerusalem. Connecticut Senator Joseph Lieberman, an independent, and Senator John [please can we bomb Iran now?] McCain, Republican of Arizona, have also said that the Obama administration was wrong in pressuring Israel.

Cantor said in the interview that he believed that behind the administration’s approach stood an attempt to “curry some favor in the Arab world by bullying our ally.” He added that the administration should ask itself how this policy advances America’s national security interests.

I think David Petraeus might have been a bit closer to the mark when, for what it's worth, he wrote:

These factors can serve as root causes of instability or as obstacles to security.

Insufficient progress toward a comprehensive Middle East peace. The enduring hostilities between Israel and some of its neighbors present distinct challenges to our ability to advance our interests in the AOR [Area of Responsibility of Cntcom] Israeli-Palestinian tensions often flare into violence and large-scale armed confrontations. The conflict foments anti-American sentiment, due to a perception of U.S. favoritism for Israel. Arab anger over the Palestinian question limits the strength and depth of U.S. partnerships with governments and peoples in the AOR and weakens the legitimacy of moderate regimes in the Arab world. Meanwhile, al-Qaeda and other militant groups exploit that anger to mobilize support. The conflict also gives Iran influence in the Arab world through its clients, Lebanese Hizballah and Hamas.

Cantor is capable of risking WW III if it serves the purpose of an undivided Jewish Jerusalem.

Antony Loewenstein has more, specifically Iran related.