"So let’s get something straight: No President has done more for the security of Israel than President Barack Obama. And that’s not going to change. It’s not just the Iron Dome, or the record-shattering levels of U.S. assistance, or the President’s repeated insistence that Israel has the right to defend itself like any other nation. It’s not just the F-35 jets that will make Israel the only country in the region with a fifth-generation fighter aircraft.All that is, to use the words of Bibi Netanyahu, “unprecedented.”
But I’m talking about something deeper: We have Israel’s back. And we will continue to look for new ways to help Israel defend itself, and to send the unmistakable message that if you challenge Israel’s security, you are challenging the United States of America. Just as the President said in Jerusalem, those who adhere to the ideology of rejecting Israel’s right to exist, they might as well reject the Earth beneath their feet, the sky above them, because Israel is not going anywhere. So long as there is a United States of America, they are not alone. Period. (Applause.)
I think you all know me well enough to know I wouldn’t be in an administration that did not mean it.
We’re also working with Gulf States to expand their defensive capabilities, air and missile defenses, critical infrastructure protection, cyber defenses. That’s the purpose of the meeting the President has called of Gulf leaders at Camp David.
And keep in mind, as I speak, there are 35,000 U.S. forces in the Gulf region to deter aggression and defend our partners. Deal or no deal, those forces remain. Our commitment to their external defense remains firm. "
But I’m talking about something deeper: We have Israel’s back. And we will continue to look for new ways to help Israel defend itself, and to send the unmistakable message that if you challenge Israel’s security, you are challenging the United States of America. Just as the President said in Jerusalem, those who adhere to the ideology of rejecting Israel’s right to exist, they might as well reject the Earth beneath their feet, the sky above them, because Israel is not going anywhere. So long as there is a United States of America, they are not alone. Period. (Applause.)
I think you all know me well enough to know I wouldn’t be in an administration that did not mean it.
We’re also working with Gulf States to expand their defensive capabilities, air and missile defenses, critical infrastructure protection, cyber defenses. That’s the purpose of the meeting the President has called of Gulf leaders at Camp David.
And keep in mind, as I speak, there are 35,000 U.S. forces in the Gulf region to deter aggression and defend our partners. Deal or no deal, those forces remain. Our commitment to their external defense remains firm. "
