Netanyahu: I will never let my people live in the shadow of annihilation

Israel's prime minister didn't close ranks with President Barack Obama on how to deal with Iran's suspect nuclear program, but he can expect a warm reception to his tough talk when he visits Congress on Tuesday.      

Benjamin Netanyahu got a preview of what to expect when Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell told the pro-Israel lobby on Monday that the U.S. should use overwhelming military force against Iran if it learns Tehran has decided to build a nuclear bomb or has started to enrich uranium to weapons-grade level.       

"In the weeks and months ahead, Israel and the United States face a day of reckoning," he told the America Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC. "We either do what it takes to preserve the balance of power within the broader Middle East or risk a nuclear arms race across the region that's almost certain to upend it."       

On Tuesday, three Republican presidential candidates will address the AIPAC gathering, trying to establish their own pro-Israel credibility on the same day 10 states hold primary voting contests. All have said Obama has mishandled Iran.       

At the start of their White House meeting Monday morning, Obama and Netanyahu tried to present a united front on the nuclear threat emanating from Iran. The U.S. leader reaffirmed that he would resort to military force, if necessary, to keep Iran from getting a bomb and said the U.S. "always has Israel's back where Israel's security is concerned."       
But the two men were unable to plaster over differences on how urgently military force might be needed.       

For the second time in two days, Netanyahu ignored Obama's appeal to give diplomacy and sanctions time to percolate, emphasizing Israel's right to defend itself militarily and suggesting he would not be swayed from going it alone if he thought Israel had to move faster to protect itself.       

The very purpose of the Jewish state, he told Obama in a mildly lecturing tone, is "to restore to the Jewish people control over our destiny," he said.       

Later in the day, before a record turnout of the pro-Israel lobby, he reasserted Israel's right to defend itself and said his country had "patiently waited" for diplomacy and sanctions to work.       

"None of us can afford to wait much longer," he told AIPAC. "As prime minister of Israel, I will never let my people live in the shadow of annihilation," he said to a roaring standing ovation.             

AP