Israel, U.S. Share the Same Mideast Outlook

If you've read the commentary in the media about today's summit meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Obama, you are no doubt expecting a tense encounter between two leaders with fundamentally divergent views of what needs to be done in the Middle East. But the truth is that much of this analysis is mistaken because it overstates the purported differences and underestimates the fundamental strategic interests that both countries still very much share.

Anyone familiar with the region today can see that, more than at any previous time, the United States and Israel share a number of strategic goals, given the serious dangers that are spreading across the entire region: Pakistan's deterioration, Iran's accelerating nuclear progress and the continuing activities of such radical Islamist groups as Hezbollah in Lebanon, Iraq and even, recently, in Egypt. The region is not quite in a state of meltdown, but the signs of destabilization are evident, requiring more coordination and cooperation between these two historic allies.