(LRozen- Politico).Earlier this week Defense Secretary Robert Gates host an honor cordon for visiting Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak, the Obama administration appeared to be pulling out all the stops in lavishing honor and warm attention on the visiting Israeli official, who has come to Washington numerous times in the past few months without so much grand ceremony.
But there’s a specific point to the U.S. Defense Secretary in particular hosting the honor guard for Barak at the Pentagon yesterday that I may have missed and is worth calling attention to.
The reason may be that the Obama administration seems to be making a concerted effort to put to rest in particular any impression that the top U.S. military brass was in any way questioning the value of the U.S.-Israeli military and strategic relationship.
(Notably, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton canceled her planned press availability with Barak after their meeting Tuesday in favor of just a camera spray, pushing all the press questions to a rare joint Gates-Barak press conference at the Pentagon.)
“Don’t forget that the office of the Secretary of Defense [sees its role as to] ride herd on the uniformed personnel,” the Washington Institute for Near East Policy’s Patrick Clawson said. Part of their job "is to keep the uniformed military [from] speak[ing] out on policy issues.”
The suggestion is that Gates’s showing of high honor to the Israeli defense chief may have been a message to those specifically in the office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Central Command to, in essence, clam it.
At a joint Gates-Barak media appearance at the Pentatgon Tuesday, Israeli Channel 10’s Gil Tamari asked both nations' defense chiefs about the unusual joint press conference and show of ceremony.
“Secretary Gates and Minister Barak, …. if you can just explain us, why do you host this press availability now?" Tamari asked. "Is it because this administration would like to portray a feeling of business as usual with the Israeli government when the general perception, as you well know, is that business is not so usual between Israel and the United States right now?“
“And … is the real perception of the Pentagon -- that, like [Centcom commander] General [David] Petraeus suggested, that the United States is paying a price with the life of American soldiers when Israel is not reaching peace with the Palestinians?” Tamari continued.
Gates jumped in to answer the second question.
“First of all, General Petraeus did not say that the lack of progress in the peace process is costing American lives,” Gates said. “And no one in this department, in or out of uniform, believes that.”
“What we do believe is that the -- heretofore, the lack of progress in the peace process has provided political ammunition to our adversaries in the Middle East and in the region, and that progress in this arena will enable us not only to perhaps get others to support the peace process, but also support us in our efforts to try and impose effective sanctions against Iran,” Gates continued.
Gates also used the news conference with Barak to counter the gist of reports based on the leak of a classified memo he wrote to National Security Advisor Jim Jones in January. The memo reportedly called for a principals meeting to be held on prudent preparations that the U.S. should be making to contain and protect allies from Iran, but was portrayed in an initial report as Gates issuing a "wake up call" to the Obama White House.
“I'm very satisfied -- satisfied with the planning process both within this building and in the interagency,” Gates said Tuesday. “We spend a lot of time on Iran, and we'll continue to do so.”
But there’s a specific point to the U.S. Defense Secretary in particular hosting the honor guard for Barak at the Pentagon yesterday that I may have missed and is worth calling attention to.
The reason may be that the Obama administration seems to be making a concerted effort to put to rest in particular any impression that the top U.S. military brass was in any way questioning the value of the U.S.-Israeli military and strategic relationship.
(Notably, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton canceled her planned press availability with Barak after their meeting Tuesday in favor of just a camera spray, pushing all the press questions to a rare joint Gates-Barak press conference at the Pentagon.)
“Don’t forget that the office of the Secretary of Defense [sees its role as to] ride herd on the uniformed personnel,” the Washington Institute for Near East Policy’s Patrick Clawson said. Part of their job "is to keep the uniformed military [from] speak[ing] out on policy issues.”
The suggestion is that Gates’s showing of high honor to the Israeli defense chief may have been a message to those specifically in the office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Central Command to, in essence, clam it.
At a joint Gates-Barak media appearance at the Pentatgon Tuesday, Israeli Channel 10’s Gil Tamari asked both nations' defense chiefs about the unusual joint press conference and show of ceremony.
“Secretary Gates and Minister Barak, …. if you can just explain us, why do you host this press availability now?" Tamari asked. "Is it because this administration would like to portray a feeling of business as usual with the Israeli government when the general perception, as you well know, is that business is not so usual between Israel and the United States right now?“
“And … is the real perception of the Pentagon -- that, like [Centcom commander] General [David] Petraeus suggested, that the United States is paying a price with the life of American soldiers when Israel is not reaching peace with the Palestinians?” Tamari continued.
Gates jumped in to answer the second question.
“First of all, General Petraeus did not say that the lack of progress in the peace process is costing American lives,” Gates said. “And no one in this department, in or out of uniform, believes that.”
“What we do believe is that the -- heretofore, the lack of progress in the peace process has provided political ammunition to our adversaries in the Middle East and in the region, and that progress in this arena will enable us not only to perhaps get others to support the peace process, but also support us in our efforts to try and impose effective sanctions against Iran,” Gates continued.
Gates also used the news conference with Barak to counter the gist of reports based on the leak of a classified memo he wrote to National Security Advisor Jim Jones in January. The memo reportedly called for a principals meeting to be held on prudent preparations that the U.S. should be making to contain and protect allies from Iran, but was portrayed in an initial report as Gates issuing a "wake up call" to the Obama White House.
“I'm very satisfied -- satisfied with the planning process both within this building and in the interagency,” Gates said Tuesday. “We spend a lot of time on Iran, and we'll continue to do so.”