Former U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen suggested on Saturday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may not fully trust President Joe Biden when it comes to coordinating Israel’s military response to Iran following this week’s missile strikes. Cohen, who served under President Bill Clinton, expressed concerns that Netanyahu might withhold critical information from the U.S. due to fears that it could be leaked or sabotage Israel’s plans.
Speaking on Fox News’ Cavuto Live, Cohen was asked by host Neil Cavuto about reported tensions between the White House and Netanyahu regarding Israel’s response to Iran’s recent missile launches, which saw nearly 200 rockets fired at Israel. Cavuto questioned whether Israel might choose not to consult the U.S. about its plans.
Cohen acknowledged that there was a “problem” of trust between the two nations, highlighting the potential consequences of not sharing information between key allies. “To the extent that the Israelis consider the United States their best ally and at times perhaps their only ally going forward, I think they have to take care that they keep this relationship in repair,” Cohen said.
He emphasized the importance of Israel keeping the U.S. informed of any military action due to the presence of American forces in the region. “We have members of our military in the region by the thousands. And they are subject to attack. So we’d like to know in advance if we have to take extra precautionary measures,” Cohen said.
Cohen further explained that Netanyahu’s reluctance to share intelligence may stem from a lack of confidence in Biden. “I think because the prime minister, Netanyahu, does not have any confidence with President Biden, he’s not eager to share the information for fear we might disclose it in advance and undermine or sabotage the event,” he said. While Cohen disagreed with this approach, he acknowledged the strain in the U.S.-Israel relationship complicates coordination.
“This public rift really works to the disadvantage of the United States but also to Israel,” Cohen concluded.
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11 Responses
After Nasrallah was killed, a former senior member of the administration said that Israel did not properly notify the US prior to attacking. He went on to say, using very strong words to emphasize his point, had they notified the US, they would have done everything in their power to stop the assassination. So why exactly should the Israelis be expected to notify them?? So that scaredycat Biden will thwart their once in a lifetime opportunity to change the course of events in the Middle East, and perhaps the entire world?!
When Biden has been trying to undermine everything Israel’s been succeeding in and has been incomprehensibly looking for nothing but ceasefires – to save both Hamas and Hezbollah – what the hell should he expect??
Someone has an opinion that there’s a “fear”, maybe, maybe not. We know trump outright gave classified information to Russian government officials who visited him, and announced the position of the naval fleet moving toward North Korea.
Biden has been fully supportive of Israel. Half the people of Israel want a ceasefire, can we expect more from American officials?
RT
You must live in a different planet.
Brandon is a useless, incontinent turd and only gets a spark of cognition when given a chance to stab Israel in the back. Kamalek is a hyena-laughing, horse faced slut and the only time she’s coherent is when supporting Israel’s enemies.
The simpering apologists defending this evil administration are kapos who deserve the same flaming eternity that they earned for themselves.
rt,
“Fully supportive”. I guess that is YOUR opinion. Most Israelis (and American Jews) see it VERY differently. Oh -what’s Trump got to do with this?
Your headline is horribly misleading. William Cohen has absolutely no role in this administration and is not privy to any inside information that Israel is withholding info from the US. It is pure conjecture. What we do know as FACT is that Biden has positioned US military assets to defend Israel and deter Iran. It is Biden that ordered the US military to shoot down missiles from Iran in multiple attacks. It is Biden who shared US Intel to help the IDF find hostages. It is Biden who has supplied record amounts of munitions to the IDF and it is Biden that pushed and got passed record amounts of funding for Israel. This week Gallant will be in Washington for talks with how the US and Israel can effectively confront Iran. Since October 7th no government in the world has been as helpful to Israel as the Biden/Harris administration..Much of Biden’s actions have cost him politically yet he did it anyway.
Trump gave Israeli intel to Russia that caused the Oct. 7 attacks. That’s why they create this BS counter-narrative.
@fandango443
What in the world are you talking about??
And how does Trump have such updated intel on Israel when he hasn’t been
in office for the past 3.5 yrs?
Wow, Biden supporters creating their own facts.
No, most Israelis do not support a cease fire, even those like myself who have sons currently in and out of Lebanon. A cease fire is what the terrorists and feckless and degenerate western leaders like Biden want – whose side are you on, rt?
Fandango and Biden unfroze sanctions on Iran, Gave the PLO money, and supported UNWRA.