"The area where this really hurts is Iran," the official said. "Iran is
making advances in its nuclear weapons program, and there is nobody on the
U.S. side to really discuss this with."
Officials said the strategic dialogue has become virtually non-existent
since the launch of the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu. They said the White House has maintained no more than formal
contact with either the Israeli prime minister or Foreign Minister Avigdor
Lieberman. Lieberman has been assigned responsibility over Israeli relations
with the United States, Middle East Newsline reported.
Over the last two weeks, officials said, neither the White House nor the
State Department has consulted with Israel on issues that directly affect
the Jewish state. They cited the U.S. dialogue with Syria as well as the
speech by Assistant U.S. Secretary of State Rose Gottemoeller, who called on
Israel to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
"With Bush, we had a firm rule that neither country would surprise the
other," the official said. "I wouldn't say this rule was inviolate. It
was. But now there's not even that basic commitment."
Under the Bush administration, Israeli officials maintained a direct
line with senior members of the White House and State Department. They
included Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, National Security Advisor
Stephen Hadley, his deputy Elliot Abrams. Every few weeks, Bush and
then-Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert would talk on the phone on Middle
East issues.
Netanyahu's senior adviser, Uzi Arad, has sought to arrange for a direct
line with National Security Advisor James Jones. Officials said Jones, a
former NATO commander and envoy to the Palestinian Authority, has been
largely unavailable. The two men were scheduled to meet on May 12 in
Washington to discuss the agenda for the Obama-Netanyahu meeting six days
later.
The administration has also sharply reduced coordination with Israel
regarding Iran's nuclear program. Officials said U.S. special envoy Dennis
Ross was ordered not to visit Israel during his tour of the Gulf Arab region
in late April. The Netanyahu government had sought to acquire a briefing by
Ross after his trip to Gulf Cooperation Council states.
U.S. officials acknowledged that relations with Israel were not the same
as those under the Bush administration. They said Obama was still forming
policy toward Israel and other Middle East states.
"There are now two new administrations and this will take time and
patience," a U.S. official said.
