There are five reasons why Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should decline House Speaker John Boehner's invitation to address a joint session of Congress, said Robert Kagan, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.
In an
opinion piece in The Washington Post, Kagan said that the visit would be inappropriate; it will damage Israel's image in the United States; it is not good for the American debate over Iran; it is not good for Congress; and, finally, it fails the Churchill test.
"It doesn’t matter what good allies the United States and Israel are, and it doesn't matter how bad relations may be between Netanyahu and President Obama. Allies don't go big-footing around in each other's politics. It also doesn't matter how worthy the cause," Kagan wrote.
He likened the visit to Citizen Genet's 1793 visit from France and attempt to stir support for the French revolution over President George Washington's stated policy of neutrality.
"Israel enjoys a great deal of sympathy among Americans, but there is such a thing as overplaying a hand.
"Even among those who may be enjoying the spectacle of Obama being defied (and, by the way, patriotic Americans should not be enjoying that spectacle, no matter how they feel about Obama), when all is said and done, Netanyahu's visit may leave a sour taste," he said.
Meanwhile, he said, the debate about Iran is ultimately about U.S. interests, not those of Israel. Even if the two are congruent at times, they are not identical.
"Giving the Israeli prime minister the forum of a joint session to make Israel's case on the Iran question might or might not be a good idea at a time of consensus between Congress and the president. Given that the United States is carrying out a vigorous and healthy debate over what to do about Iran, the intrusion of the Israeli prime minister only muddies the waters," he said.
He added that the visit would be bad for Congress because the chamber already suffers "from an image of excessive deference to Israel on matters of foreign policy."
"In the case of Iran, Israel is uniquely threatened and, as a U.S. ally, it deserves a serious and appropriate hearing here. But it is a mistake for Congress to treat Israel as if it were fundamentally different from all other U.S. allies, some of whom also face dire threats," Kagan wrote.
Finally, he said, a visit would fail the "Churchill test."
He said that when the British needed the help of the U.S. in World War II — a need far more dire than Israel's is today, he said — no one invited Churchill to speak to a joint session of Congress, and it's unlikely he would have even considered accepting such an invitation without the approval of the president.
"U.S. congressional leaders probably should have given this invitation more thought. Although not a violation of the letter of the Constitution, it certainly seems to violate the idea that the nation speaks with one voice on foreign policy and that foreign leaders cannot choose whether they prefer to deal with Congress or the president," Kagan wrote.
"Will Republicans be happy when the shoe is on the other foot, and a Democratic Congress invites foreign leaders to joint sessions in defiance of a Republican president's wishes?
"But whether the congressional leadership has thought this through or not, there is still time for the Israeli prime minister to do the right thing — and decline."
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