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>A growing chorus of voices in the US has singled out Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as the bogeyman behind US President Donald Trump’s Iran policy.
>Former Barack Obama adviser Ben Rhodes wrote this past week that Netanyahu was one of those “pushing to confront Iran.” US Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard also blamed “Saudi Arabia, Netanyahu [and] Al Qaeda” this last week for pushing for war with Iran.
>Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif has sought to fuel this blame game by claiming the US administration has been taken over by “Netanyahu firsters.”
>Blaming Israel for US tensions with Iran has a long history in US foreign policy circles. In the 2006 essay The Israel Lobby, by John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt, which later became a book, the authors argued that Israel and pro-Israel groups worked to shape the US administration’s policy toward Iran as part of a “grand scheme for reordering the Middle East.”
>“Who wants this war with Iran?” Patrick Buchanan’s official website asked on Friday. “Answer: Pompeo and Bolton, Bibi Netanyahu, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.”
>This talking point, linking National Security Adviser John Bolton, the Saudis and “Bibi” is remarkably consistent on both the Left and Right. Rhodes tweeted, “Bolton, MBS [Mohammed Bin Salman] and Bibi [are] pushing to confront Iran,” for instance.
>At the same time, the antisemitic far Right has also blamed Israel for Trump’s policies. One website that openly praises Hitler said “Bibi satanyahoo” was pushing for a war with Iran.
>“When did the US elect Bibi Netanyahu president? John Bolton, the Saudis and hawkish forces pushing White House toward war,” tweeted another person, partially quoting the headline of an article at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
