WarSclerotic

The effusive praise yesterday from Ehud Barak, a former Israeli prime minister and military chief known for his hawkish view on tackling Iran’s nuclear ambitions, came just hours after Republican presidential challenger Mitt Romney completed a two-day visit to Jerusalem, during which he talked tough about how he would handle Tehran’s Islamic regime.

Mr Obama has had tense moments with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu because of differences over the Palestinian peace process, providing an opening for Mr Romney during his visit to argue that “diplomatic distance” only emboldens Israel’s adversaries.

But Mr Barak yesterday left no doubt about Mr Obama’s commitment to Israel’s security.

“I can see long years, administrations of both sides of the political aisle, deeply supporting the state of Israel, and I believe that reflects a profound feeling among the American people,” he said in a CNN interview.

“But I should honestly tell you that this administration under President Obama is doing in regard to our security more than anything that I can remember in the past.”

Mr Barak said differences over negotiations with the Palestinians were well known.

He added: “I believe that in regard to world turmoil, in regard to Hezbollah, in regard to what happens in Syria, in regard to Iran, we basically . . . agree on the diagnosis. We don’t agree on the prognosis on some of the issues.”

Mr Obama has guaranteed Israel’s security and said he would not tolerate Iran developing nuclear weapons that could threaten the nation’s existence.

Mr Romney has tried to up the ante before November’s election by claiming Mr Obama has not been tough enough on Iran. The Republican candidate’s top foreign policy adviser, Dan Senor, went further during the Israel trip by saying his boss would support a unilateral Israeli military strike to knock out Iran’s nuclear program – a position not adopted openly by Mr Romney or Mr Obama.

US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta, who arrives for an Israeli visit on Mr Romney’s heels, yesterday urged Mr Netanyahu’s government to give UN-backed economic sanctions against Iran more time to work before considering a military attack.

The US Defence Secretary’s comments contradicted the position of the Israeli Prime Minister, who maintained during Mr Romney’s visit to Jerusalem at the weekend that “all the sanctions and diplomacy so far have not set back the Tehran program one iota”. Mr Netanyahu wants a “strong and credible military threat” coupled with sanctions.

Mr Panetta declined to comment on the visit by Mr Romney, who told Israeli leaders he would make preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon the US’s “highest national security priority” if he is elected president in November.

All the same, Mr Panetta’s visit looks deliberately timed to boost the Obama administration in the context of the election. Other moves by the Obama administration to dampen the impact of Mr Romney’s Israel visit appear to be a trip by the President’s Homeland Security adviser, John Brennan, late last week, and an additional $US70 million ($66.64m) in military aid approved by Mr Obama for Israel’s Iron Dome short-range missile program, just hours before Mr Romney arrived.

Mr Romney yesterday concluded a largely successful visit to Israel, which also included a meeting with the Palestinian Authority’s Prime Minister Salam Fayyad.

He did, however, offend Palestinian leaders at a fundraiser with the comment that Israel’s culture and a history of overcoming adversity were responsible for the nation’s economic success. In doing so, he pointed to the large income disparity between Israelis and Palestinians.

Palestinian leaders later protested that Mr Romney had ignored years of Israeli occupation of the West Bank and restrictions on movement for its occupants that had stifled the local economy. They also took offence at his description of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, given the Palestinian claim on East Jerusalem.