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Pres. Obama drops in on Barak-Jones meeting
Promises true love always, dedication to two-state solution.
US President Barack Obama dropped by a meeting US National Security Adviser Jim Jones held with Defense Minister Ehud Barak Monday, stressing the strength of the US-Israel relationship and his dedication to achieving a two-state solution.

“The president reaffirmed our unshakable commitment to Israel's security and our determination to achieve comprehensive peace in the Middle East,' White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said following the meeting. He added that the two had also discussed “how to deal with the threats that both the US and Israel face and how to move forward toward comprehensive peace.'

Iran's nuclear program and the Middle East peace process are expected to dominate Barak's visit to the US this week, though recent arms shipments by Syria, intelligence cooperation and military procurement are also on the agenda.

After his White House visit, Barak was due to meet with CIA Director Leon Panetta later Monday. After that, he was scheduled to hold talks with Fred Hof, deputy to US Middle East envoy George Mitchell, following on meetings Barak had with Mitchell himself in Israel during the latter's weekend visit.

On Tuesday, Barak is slated to hold talks with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and US Defense Secretary Robert Gates, following a dinner Monday night at Israeli ambassador Michael Oren's home with US dignitaries including Deputy Secretary of State Jack Lew. Barak heads to New York Wednesday for meetings with Jewish leaders and returns to Washington on Thursday to address the American Jewish Committee's annual conference, at which Clinton will also be appearing.
Gosh, this is nothing like the treatment Defense Minister Barak's boss got. I wonder if it's because Minister Barak is the head of the Labour party and a former PM? Not to mention that he beat Netanyahu by a wide margin to become PM in 1999... But we can trust that President Obama would never do something so dastardly as to interfere in an ally's internal politics.

Posted by: trailing wife 2010-05-03
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=295927