Biden Officials Trash Netanyahu and Israel in Leaks to Media As Iran Attacks Israel

Even as the U.S. was defending Israel from a sustained aerial attack by Iran and Joe Biden was speaking by phone to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, senior Biden administration officials were trashing Netanyahu and Israel in leaks to the media.

NBC News reported Biden has privately said he fears Netanyahu is trying to drag the U.S. into war while a senior administration official told NBC, “The Israelis don’t always make the best strategic decisions.”

Excerpt from NBC report headlined, “U.S. concerned Israel will respond to Iran without thought to potential fallout”

Some top U.S. officials are concerned Israel could do something quickly in response to Iran’s attacks without thinking through potential fallout afterward, according to a senior administration official and a senior defense official.

…President Joe Biden has privately expressed concern that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to drag the U.S. more deeply into a broader conflict, according to three people familiar with his comments.

…“I don’t think they had a strategy,” the senior administration official said. “The Israelis don’t always make the best strategic decisions.”

A week ago Biden threatened Netanyahu over aid to Israel over its conduct in Gaza trying to defeat Hamas, according to a White House statement issued April 4:

President Biden spoke by telephone with Prime Minister Netanyahu. The two leaders discussed the situation in Gaza. President Biden emphasized that the strikes on humanitarian workers and the overall humanitarian situation are unacceptable. He made clear the need for Israel to announce and implement a series of specific, concrete, and measurable steps to address civilian harm, humanitarian suffering, and the safety of aid workers. He made clear that U.S. policy with respect to Gaza will be determined by our assessment of Israel’s immediate action on these steps. He underscored that an immediate ceasefire is essential to stabilize and improve the humanitarian situation and protect innocent civilians, and he urged the Prime Minister to empower his negotiators to conclude a deal without delay to bring the hostages home. The two leaders also discussed public Iranian threats against Israel and the Israeli people. President Biden made clear that the United States strongly supports Israel in the face of those threats.”

A Marine is outside the Oval Office- meaning POTUS is inside – as Israeli officials tell Fox President Biden is on the phone with PM Netanyahu right now pic.twitter.com/uF6MlIqgnr

— Jacqui Heinrich (@JacquiHeinrich) April 14, 2024

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is currently speaking with US President Joe Biden, following the deliberations of the Security Cabinet and the War Cabinet. pic.twitter.com/v2oJqMSky4

— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) April 14, 2024

Saturday night Biden was acting like he is Israel’s best friend again.

Biden released a statement late Saturday night on the Iranian attack and his phone call with Netanyahu:

Earlier today, Iran—and its proxies operating out of Yemen, Syria and Iraq—launched an unprecedented air attack against military facilities in Israel. I condemn these attacks in the strongest possible terms.

At my direction, to support the defense of Israel, the U.S. military moved aircraft and ballistic missile defense destroyers to the region over the course of the past week. Thanks to these deployments and the extraordinary skill of our servicemembers, we helped Israel take down nearly all of the incoming drones and missiles.

I’ve just spoken with Prime Minister Netanyahu to reaffirm America’s ironclad commitment to the security of Israel. I told him that Israel demonstrated a remarkable capacity to defend against and defeat even unprecedented attacks – sending a clear message to its foes that they cannot effectively threaten the security of Israel.

Tomorrow, I will convene my fellow G7 leaders to coordinate a united diplomatic response to Iran’s brazen attack. My team will engage with their counterparts across the region. And we will stay in close touch with Israel’s leaders. And while we have not seen attacks on our forces or facilities today, we will remain vigilant to all threats and will not hesitate to take all necessary action to protect our people.