Defense Secretary Ash Carter testifies before the House Armed Services Committee, June 17, 2015. Carter outlined the Defense Department’s strategy on dealing with terror threats in the Middle East and approaches to dealing with recent significant gains by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. DoD photo by Glenn Fawcett
Reuters: Obama sending defense chief to Middle East to reassure on Iran
WASHINGTON: U.S. President Barack Obama is sending his defense chief next week to the Middle East, where he faces the unenviable job of reassuring allies such as Israel that a nuclear deal with Iran will not undermine America's commitment to their security.
It could be a very hard sell.
So far, the White House has only disclosed one stop on the trip - to Israel, where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned Tuesday's deal as "a stunning, historic mistake."
U.S. defense officials told Reuters that Defense Secretary Ash Carter would travel elsewhere within the region but declined to offer details.
WNU Editor: I am very curious on how he will be received. Will he be ignored? Will only his equivalent (i.e. defense minister) meet him at the airport? Will he be met by a Prime Minister or in the case of Saudi Arabia ... the King. My gut is telling me that he is the White House's canary in the coal mine in trying to gauge how damaged U.S. relations have become with our allies in the region with this Iranian nuclear deal.
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