Sanders: Netanyahu Speech to Congress a Very Bad Idea
Sen. Bernie Sanders was the first senator to say he would not attend a March 3 speech to a joint session of Congress by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Knowing that the prime minister disagrees with President Barack Obama's policy on how to stem Iran’s nuclear plans, House Speaker John Boehner invited Netanyahu to speak without first informing the White House. Sanders on Tuesday explained why it was a bad idea. “What Speaker Boehner has done is politicize the situation in a way that's unprecedented,” Sanders said in an interview on CNN.
“A president of the United States, whether that person is a Democrat or Republican, leads us in foreign policy. When you have a situation in the Middle East where the politics and the dangers are so volatile, the idea that the speaker of the House would invite Mr. Netanyahu to Congress without consulting President Obama is a very, very bad idea,” Sanders said.
Sanders also criticized the timing of the speech just two weeks before elections in Israel. “It is wrong to give any politician, not just Netanyahu, the stage of a speech before a joint session of Congress as part of his political campaign. That's wrong for politics in Israel. it's wrong for politics anywhere in the world,” Sanders said.
Meanwhile, Obama stressed on Monday that international talks over Iran's nuclear programs are delicate. He said it would not help the negotiations if Netanyahu calls for more sanctions against Iran in the midst of those talks.
