WASHINGTON – The White House defended itself Monday from GOP criticism that US President Barack Obama was minimizing Israel's concerns on Iran and downgrading its status as one of America's closest allies.
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney stressed that Israel is indeed America's "closest ally in the region" and that the US shares Jerusalem's concerns about Iran.
In a "60 Minutes" interview Sunday night, Obama responded to interviewer Steve Kroft's question about whether Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu was pressuring him to act more aggressively on Iran by saying that, "When it comes to our national security decisions, any pressure that I feel is simply to do what's right for the American people. And I'm going to block out any noise that's out there."
He continued, "I feel an obligation – not pressure but obligation – to make sure that we're in close consultation with the Israelis on these issues because it affects them deeply. They're one of our closest allies in the region, and we've got an Iranian regime that has said horrible things that directly threaten Israel's existence."
The campaign of GOP presidential challenger Mitt Romney quickly jumped on the statement, calling Obama's comments "the latest evidence of his chronic disregard for the security of our closest ally in the Middle East," in the words of spokeswoman Andrea Saul.
Virginia Republican Eric Cantor, majority leader of the US House of Representatives, charged that in the interview Obama "downplayed the Jewish state's concern over Iran's march to a nuclear weapon as 'noise.'"
Meanwhile, Democrats fired back on Monday. DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz called some of the Republican attacks on Obama's statements exactly the kind of noise he was referring to.
"The President was making the following point: that he will not allow election-season political noise to distract him from the serious decisions he must make as commander-in-chief."
She continued, "That includes protecting the security of our friend and ally Israel and making sure that Iran is never able to obtain a nuclear weapon."
Asked specifically about Obama's use of the word noise at the White House press briefing, Carney answered that "there is obviously a lot of noise around this issue at times. His point was clearly that his objective is to take every step possible to enhance Israel's security as part of our strong relationship with Israel."
Asked later whether he believed Netanyahu had inserted himself into American politics, Carney replied with an unequivocal "no" and referred to the prime minister's own statements denying such intentions in recent interviews on American television.
In his own "60 Minutes" interview with Scott Pelley, which aired directly before Obama's, Romney slammed his opponent for not granting Netanyahu a meeting while the Israeli leader is in the United States for the opening of the United Nation's General Assembly in New York this week.
The president's decision not to meet with Netanyahu "is a mistake and it sends a message throughout the Middle East that somehow we distance ourselves from our friends, and I think the exact opposite approach is what's necessary," Romney said.
Carney explained the lack of a meeting as a result of the two men not being in New York on the same days.
