Obama Aide: Netanyahu Talk ‘Destructive’

In an interview on PBS, White House National Security Adviser Susan Rice declared that the planned visit and speech by Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu has “injected a degree of partisanship, which is not only unfortunate, I think it’s destructive of the fabric of the relationship.” The administration is upset over Netanyahu’s acceptance of an invitation from House Speaker John Boehner to make a case before Congress against a nuclear deal with Iran. It was arranged without consultation with the White House, something the administration has viewed as a serious breach of protocol. The president has said he will not meet with Netanyahu during the visit. Even Netanyahu’s own nation security adviser, Yossi Cohen, has reportedly said he wishes the speech was not happening.