With attention on the strained relations between U.S. and Israel in recent days, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made it clear she views the two countries as allies. The NY Times reports, that she "brush[ed] aside talk of a crisis" by saying, "Oh, I don’t buy that. I’ve been around not that long, but a long time. We have an absolute commitment to Israel’s security. We have a close, unshakable bond between the United States and Israel and between the American and Israeli people."
She also noted that the U.S. doesn't always agree with its allies on everything. The remarks then prompted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office to release a statement saying it "appreciates and respects the warm words [from Clinton on] the deep bond between the U.S. and Israel, and on the U.S. commitment to Israel's security."
However, Clinton does want Israel to be serious about peace talks and said that special envoy George Mitchell would reschedule his trip to the Middle East once the U.S. has "the full commitment from both our Israeli and our Palestinian partners to this effort."
Another question: Will Clinton's words be enough for politicians to stop offering critical soundbites like "Israel is a sovereign nation and an ally, not a punching bag. Enough already" (Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-NY) and "This attempt to curry favor with the Arabs by bullying Israel is not a wise move" (Rep. Eric Cantor, R-VA)?
