Right-wing pro-Israel lobby in US slams Obama in new ad
Video uses US public concerns over Obamacare to warn over his untrustworthiness on Iran; new poll shows Israelis opposing president’s Iran policies
The Emergency Committee for Israel, a right-wing pro-Israel lobby in Washington, released a TV ad on Thursday bashing US President Barack Obama as untrustworthy on Israel and Iran.
The one-minute video, titled “Obama’s March to War,” strikes a very relevant cord for many Americans by beginning with the president’s promises regarding his signature healthcare legislation, popularly known as “Obamacare.”
“If you like your private health insurance plan, you can keep your plan, period” the now-famous presidential sound bite states, with the video cutting to Obama apologizing to those Americans who it now appears will not be able to maintain their previous coverage. “I am sorry they are finding themselves in this situation based on assurances they got from me.”
The clip then turns to the president’s “red line” vow to strike Syria if chemical weapons were to be used or transferred in the war-torn country. It then presents Obama as backtracking somewhat, when he tells reporters in September, “I didn’t set a red line, the world set a red line.”
The administration eventually decided to not strike Bashar Assad’s regime, in light of a last-minute deal to disarm Syria’s chemical weapons brokered by Russia.
The video resolves with an implicit warning to not take the president at his word on Iran, starting with another Obama sound bite, this time from an AIPAC conference. “When the chips are down, I have Israel’s back,” the president said in March 2012. But then the video shows Obama telling reporters that his comments to AIPAC were not a “military doctrine.”
The clip ends with Obama promising, during a debate with 2012 Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney, to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. The screen cuts to black and then a nuclear explosion is seen.
Meanwhile, Israeli public opinion against the president’s policies regarding Iran appeared to be solidifying. A poll in the Israeli daily Israel Hayom found Friday that 65.5% of Israelis felt that Israel should oppose the nuclear deal being formulated this month in Geneva between the P5+1 and Iran, while only 16.2% supported the potential agreement.
In addition, 52.4% of respondents said they would support an Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities, and a full 68.8% were confident that the IDF is up to the task.
