Bibi slaps prez in with Washington visit meant to escalate fight with Iran

You could almost hear the smack across the bow of the Obama administration on Wednesday as Speaker John Boehner invited Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address a joint session of Congress on Feb 11. Bibi has accepted. 

Usually these things are scheduled along with an already planned foreign leader/POTUS meeting. This however was done without any set presidential meeting, or even a consultation with the White House or State Department. 

The invitation is meant to be a direct attack on President Obama’s Iran policy, according to Boehner’s prepared remarks to the House Republican conference. 

“You may have seen that on Friday, the president warned us not to move ahead with sanctions on Iran, a state sponsor of terror,” Boehner said. “His exact message to us was: ‘Hold your fire.’ He expects us to stand idly by and do nothing while he cuts a bad deal with Iran. Two words: ‘Hell no!’ … we’re going to do no such thing.

“So today I will announce that I am inviting the Prime Minister of Israel, a great friend of this country, to address a joint meeting of Congress next month. And I am specifically asking him to address Congress on the threats posed by radical Islam and Iran. America and Israel have always stood together in shared cause and common ideals, and now we must rise to the moment again. Let’s send a clear message to the White House — and the world — about our commitment to Israel and our allies.”

The invitation for Netanyahu to speak to lawmakers comes hours after the President declared in his State of the Union address that he would veto any sanctions legislation.

In a press release announcing the invitation, Boehner was more statesmen-like than his words to the GOP caucus.