International security

Bibi vs. Barack: Who Owns US Foreign Policy?

The irony of the 2016 presidential race is that the selection of a new American president might not be the most fateful political contest. Rather, it could be the showdown between Benjamin Netanyahu and Barack Obama over who runs US foreign policy. Neither man will be on the ballot next year, of course, but if Bibi succeeds in defeating Barack’s nuclear deal with Iran, it will cast a long, dark shadow over presidential contenders and the prospects for war or peace.

Not for the first time, the Israeli prime minister has bluntly intruded on US politics, making common cause with the Republican Party’s relentless efforts to demean and disparage the American president.