"I said early in this campaign I would meet not just with our friends, but with our enemies. Not just with those we like, but those that we don't...Senator Clinton said, 'oh no, that'd be naive, that'd be irresponsible.' I said, 'remember what John F. Kennedy said, he said 'you should never negotiate out of fear, but you should never fear to negotiate.'" --Barack Obama, Florence, SC, Jan. 25, 2008.President Obama is more interested for his administration to meet enemies of the USA, but refuses to allow Secretary of State to meet with Israel's Foreign Minister?
Israel Channel 2 TV reports last night:
The Americans are ignoring Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman
Israel's Foreign Minister is expected to make an official visit in Washington in a few weeks, yet to date no meeting or discussion has been scheduled by the American administration.The US Administration has a problem meeting with Israel's foreign minister.
US Administration officials referred to Lieberman as a "hostile" force, and continue to refuse the offers of the Israeli foreign minister to meet him. Their excuses range from "Hillary Clinton is out of town", to more more explicit explanations.
"Lieberman is an obstacle to peace, we do not want to be photographed with him and what he stands for," said one senior American officials to Israel Channel 2 TV, in tones usually reserved for terrorist organizations.
It should be noted that the strategic dialogue is conducted with Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon, which required the intervention of Prime Minister because [not meeting with the Foreign Minister] was directly impacting the relationship between Israel and the US.
The Foreign Ministry said in response: "Just last week, Lieberman met with senators and talked on the phone with U.S. Secretary of State on a variety of topics. The schedule for the trip will be finalized close to the FM's departure to the United States and will be publicized to the media." (Israel Channel 2 TV)
Other formal individuals they have no problem meeting with have included:
President Obama meeting African dictator Ali Bongo who has ruthlessly plundered billions of dollars from his own country. (source)
President Obama meeting Hugo Chavez (source)
President Obama meeting Gaddafi (source)
The list is endless. It's just unfortunate that the US Administration is ignoring the huge segment of the Israeli population which elected Lieberman, while having no problem meeting with some of the world's worst vermin.
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