Peres is often the mouthpiece for things that the prime minister can't or won't say publicly.
By GREER FAY CASHMANShimon Peres 370(photo credit: Wikicommons)
President Shimon Peres has been sounding off about Iran for almost as long as he's been in office. He has at different times made conflicting remarks, and his publicly expressed opinions did not always coincide with those of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu or Defense Minister Ehud Barak.Peres has spoken about Iran to media representatives in Israel and abroad, at news conferences and in one-on-one interviews. He has somehow managed to say something about Iran at almost every public gathering in his official residence, regardless of the underlying reason for the meeting.He has discussed Iran with every visiting dignitary and with presidents, prime ministers and others during his many trips abroad. Aspects of those discussions have been publicized on his social media outlets and through press releases put out by his spokespeople. The press releases are often headlined with his remarks about Iran.From the hullaballoo that erupted last Thursday night, one would think that this was the first time that Peres had overstepped the mark.But the fact of the matter is that he is often the mouthpiece for things that the prime minister cannot say or does not want to say publicly.The president is known for being a salmon swimming upstream, aside from which his political background is not exactly right-wing, so no-one expects him to toe the same political line as the prime minister.The question that presents itself is whether the president and the PM are genuinely at odds, or whether all this blah blah from high places is designed to confuse the enemy. Is it part of a carefully hatched plot to divert attention or is yet another emulation of Chelm? In Israel, there's often a very fine line between the two.It is difficult to understand why one of the key architects of Israel's defense establishment, the mostly highly decorated soldier in Israel's history who is also a former chief of staff; and currently Defense Minister, and a former member of the elite Sayeret Matkal who is now the prime minister of Israel would so irresponsibly shoot their mouths off, unless they had an ulterior motive.The next thing we have to ask ourselves is whether all this talk from the upper echelons has been coordinated with US President Barack Obama and if there was not some planned purpose, including the public disagreement aired last Thursday, behind the exercise.How is that Peres has only now come under criticism for what he said about Iran? He has said so many things about Iran that were deserving of criticism – yet there was nary a peep from the Prime Minister's Office. Why suddenly has everyone woken up to the fact that Peres has ventured beyond the boundaries of his office? Doesn't he do that every day? If the outrage of recent days is genuine, and there was no-one in high places who noticed the president's follies, we have to ask ourselves which emperor it is that has no clothes? .
