Haaretz Quotes Paul Eaton on Netanyahu’s Planned Congressional Address

Ex-US General Blasts Netanyahu’s Planned Congress Address

By Amir Oren
January 25, 2015 | Haaretz

A high-ranking ex-U.S. army general warned this weekend that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s planned Congress address in March could imperil both the United States and Israel.

Retired U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Paul D. Eaton told Haaretz that U.S. House Speaker John Boehner’s invitation to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is not only improper, but perilous to both countries.

In coming out against legislation tabled by Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill) in the Senate and championed by Speaker Boehner in the House, with overt help by Netanyahu, Eaton has strong pro-Israel credentials.

He also has friends in the Israel Defense Forces, such as Shamni. “Soldiers value diplomacy,” he says, declaring his view of war as being the very last resort and giving diplomacy a chance without politically undercutting it.

“Both Iran and the United States have hard-liners that would frustrate a diplomatic solution, and it is folly for American hard-liners to give ammunition to those Iranians who would see these talks fail,” Eaton wrote Haaretz, in response to questions sent him last Thursday, after Obama and Kerry both announced they would not see Netanyahu when the prime minister visits Washington on March 3.

For the original piece, click here.