Lieberman: "Believe me, America accepts all our decisions,"

Lieberman: "Believe me, America accepts all our decisions,"

Lieberman must be thinking of Janie Harman and her ilke!

Haaretz, here

"Believe me, America accepts all our decisions," Lieberman told the Russian daily Moskovskiy Komosolets.

..During the interview, Lieberman said Iran is not Israel's biggest strategic threat; rather, Afghanistan and Pakistan are. This comes after years of Lieberman warning about the growing Iranian threat. Now, he has dropped Tehran to number two, with Iraq coming third. Regarding his changing view on Israel's greatest threats, Lieberman said that since he began warning against the nuclear threat from Iran, nuclear threats have become more prevalent. Meanwhile, a more urgent problem has developed in Pakistan and Afghanistan....

Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman was due in Israel on Wednesday for talks with senior officials, but as of Tuesday night, there were no plans for a meeting with Lieberman..."

Posted by G, Z, & or B at 9:28 PM

"Not sure Netanyahu understands the changes in D.C.,"

LR in the CABLE, here

"[Michael] Oren, (Netanyahu's choice to be his ambassador to Washington) a New Jersey native who emigrated to Israel in the 1970s, is a published historian and contributing editor to The New Republic. He spoke to NPR during Israel's recent Gaza campaign in his capacity as a reservist working as a spokesman for the Israeli military. Saying the post was a done deal, a plugged-in Washington Middle East hand said Netanyahu's choice for the key post of a right-leaning historian who never previously served in any diplomatic function and with strong ties to the neoconservatives was slightly puzzling. "Not sure Netanyahu understands the changes in D.C.," he said"

Posted by G, Z, & or B at 6:14 PM

Lieberman: U.S. to Accept Any Israeli Policy Decision


22/04/2009 The Obama Administration will put forth new peace initiatives only if Israel wants it to, said Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman in his first comprehensive interview on foreign policy since taking office.

"Believe me, America accepts all our decisions," Lieberman told the Russian daily Moskovskiy Komosolets.

Lieberman granted his first major interview to Alexander Rosensaft, the Israel correspondent of one of the oldest Russian dailies, not to an Israeli newspaper. The role of Israel is to "bring the U.S. and Russia closer," he declared.

During the interview, Lieberman said Iran is not Israel's biggest strategic threat; rather, Afghanistan and Pakistan are.

This comes after years of Lieberman warning about the growing Iranian threat. Now, he has dropped Tehran to number two, with occupied Iraq coming third.

Lieberman also discussed Moscow's under-utilized role in the Middle East and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and said he aims to correct this. The newspaper emphasized Lieberman's intention to develop closer ties with Russia and to resolve international issues jointly.

"Russia has a special influence in the Muslim world, and I consider it a strategic partner that should play a key role in the Middle East," Lieberman said in the interview.

"I have argued for some time that Israel has insufficient appreciation for the 'Kremlin factor'; I intend to mend this gap," he said.

Regarding his changing view on Israel's greatest threats, Lieberman said that since he began warning against the nuclear threat from Iran, nuclear threats have become more prevalent. Meanwhile, a more urgent problem has developed in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

In response to a question on Israel's role in countering these threats, Lieberman said, "Our role is that we should bring the U.S. and Russia closer ... it is unclear to me why the U.S. needs to confront Russia on Kosovo or Ukraine's entry to NATO; however, Russia needs to understand that close cooperation with Hugo Chavez does not build western confidence."

Later in the interview, the Israeli foreign minister spoke unkindly of the road map, which he called binding, unlike the Annapolis process, in his view. The Palestinians "are not very familiar with the document," he said. Lieberman called a two-state solution a nice slogan that lacks substance.

On Tuesday, Army Radio reported that Lieberman ruled out an Arab peace initiative, after previously announcing that Israel was not bound to the U.S.-backed Annapolis process. "This is a dangerous proposal, a recipe for the destruction of Israel," he was quoted as telling a closed meeting of senior Foreign Ministry officials.

Meanwhile, Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman was due in Israel on Wednesday for talks with senior officials, but as of Tuesday night, there were no plans for a meeting with Lieberman.

A senior political source in Tel Aviv said Tuesday night that a meeting would take place, but neither the Israeli Foreign Ministry nor officials in Cairo would comment on the matter.

Lieberman sparked outrage in Egypt last year when he criticized its president, Hosni Mubarak, in a speech before the Knesset, saying that the Egyptian leader could "go to hell."

His remarks were over Mubarak's refusal to make an official state visit to the Zionist entity.

At another time, Lieberman said Egypt's Aswan Dam should be bombed. Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said earlier this month that Lieberman would not be welcome in Egypt unless he changes his positions.