Donald Rumsfeld dismayed at Obama's inappropriate handling of Netanyahu

The former defense secretary has added his voice to Netanayhu's defenders:

Less than a week before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to address a joint session of Congress, former U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld tells Israel Hayom that the focus on Netanyahu's visit rather than on his message is an "unfortunate distraction" from the important issue -- the Iranian threat.

"I find it stunning to see the comments out of the White House on this issue," he says. "It is more than a distraction, it is unfortunate. It plays into the hands of those people who are not in favor of the relationship [between Israel and the U.S.], who are not in favor of Israel or who are in favor of Iran, and the idea that people are saying what they are saying I find most unfortunate."

In a special interview, to be published in full on Friday, Rumsfeld says that "the entire discussion on his visit, it seems to me, is a distraction from the important subject about Iran. Here is a country that is supporting terrorism, has a pattern of being hostile not only toward the United States and Israel but toward many of the countries in your region.

The fuller interview can be read here. Rumsfeld says the speech can elevate public dialogue on Iran's totalitarianism. And it should. In fact, one could say it's happening already, and the Obama administration's only achieved the opposite of what they'd prefer.