JERUSALEM, (Reuters) – President Barack Obama pledged yesterday to hold Syria to account if it used chemical weapons and assured Israel, in his first official visit to the Jewish state, of U.S. resolve to curb Iran’s nuclear programme.
Obama came to Israel seeking to allay the security fears of Washington’s closest ally in the Middle East, burnish his image with Israelis and repair frayed relations with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over Iran and the expansion of Jewish settlements on occupied land Palestinians claim for a state.
Two months into his second and final term, the president tried to make a positive impression at the start of a visit high on symbolism but low on expectations of any breakthrough in Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts stalled since 2010.
At Tel Aviv airport, he visited an Iron Dome anti-missile battery, a partly U.S.-funded system Israel has deployed against rockets from Gaza and Lebanon. He seemed at ease with Netanyahu, a right-winger who is also recently re-elected and has just this week formed a new governing coalition.
At a joint news conference after three hours of talks, Obama offered unstinting verbal support for Israel. He used what appeared to be his toughest language to date on what may happen should Syrian President Bashar al-Assad use chemical weapons.
After both sides in Syria’s civil war accused the other of a chemical attack on Tuesday – while providing no evidence to international bodies – Obama said he had asked for an investigation to determine if “this red line” had been crossed.
Voicing doubts that Syrian rebels could have pulled off such an attack, he said: “Once we’ve established the facts I have made clear the use of chemical weapons is a game changer.”
Obama, who has previously said chemical weapons were be a “red line” that would trigger unspecified U.S. action, has been loath to attack Syria after spending much of his first term winding down wars in other Muslim states, Iraq and Afghanistan.
He said on Wednesday that Syrian forces would be committing a “tragic mistake” in resorting to unconventional arms or making them available to others: “The Assad regime must understand that they will be held accountable for the use of chemical weapons or their transfer to terrorists,” Obama said, without elaborating.
BODY LANGUAGE
The body language between Obama and Netanyahu appeared noticeably warmer than in their past encounters and the Israeli prime minister was at pains to avoid antagonising his guest.
Last year, Netanyahu seemed to prefer Obama’s opponent in the 2012 presidential election, Mitt Romney, only to see the Republican fail to unseat Obama.
While both leaders said that Iran remains a global threat because of its nuclear programme, there seemed little doubt that Netanyahu is prepared to part ways with Obama on the issue of Iran if necessary.
He insisted Israel had a right to defend itself against Iran’s alleged nuclear weapons development, despite Obama’s counselling of patience to let sanctions and diplomatic pressure continue to work. Iran denies it wants to make such weapons.
Netanyahu said he was certain Obama appreciated that Israel “can never cede the right to defend ourselves to others, even to the greatest of our friends”, a hint at a possible go-it-alone plan to attack Iran: “Today we have both the right and the capability to defend ourselves,” said Netanyahu.
But he also voiced confidence in Obama, saying: “I am absolutely convinced that the president is determined to prevent Iran from getting nuclear weapons. And I appreciate that.”
Obama, whose administration has in the past privately sought to head off a unilateral Israeli military strike against Iran, said Netanyahu was “absolutely correct” that each country had a right to defend itself and that there was “not a lot of daylight” between U.S. and Israeli assessments of where Iran is on its nuclear development.
But he was quick to note “there is time to resolve this diplomatically”.
