Administration defends Kerry's failed efforts in Israel

Fox News:

The State Department publicly battled a barrage of Israeli criticism on Monday over Secretary of State John Kerry’s efforts to secure a cease-fire with Hamas, in the latest signs of strain between the Obama administration and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.

Administration officials spoke in unusually blunt terms in defending Kerry, accusing some in Israel of launching a "misinformation campaign" against the top American diplomat.

"It's simply not the way partners and allies treat each other," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.

Other branches of the administration also leapt to Kerry’s defense. National Security Adviser Susan Rice said they were “dismayed” by reports “mischaracterizing” Kerry’s efforts.

Her deputy, Tony Blinken, said "Israel has no better friend, no stronger defender than John Kerry."

By late in the day, both sides appeared to be trying to move forward, with Psaki saying the U.S. is working toward a “humanitarian ceasefire” and Israel’s ambassador to the U.S. saying he speaks for the prime minister in saying “the criticism of Secretary Kerry is unwarranted."

But the flare-up Monday was unusual even by the standards of the at-times chilly relationship between the Obama and Netanyahu governments.

U.S. officials said they were disappointed by Israeli reports that cast Kerry's efforts to negotiate a cease-fire as more favorable to Hamas, and by the apparent leaking of a “confidential draft.”
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Where Kerry screwed up was in thinking there was anything acceptable about the draft he submitted.  An intelligent locateur would have told those pushing the Hamas demands that there was no way Israel would accept them and they were so absurd that they would set back the process of getting a cease fire, which is exactly what happened.  Why did Kerry make such a blunder?  I suspect it was because he was too involved with the process to examine the issues and question the practicality of the proposal.  This is just another example of why the term "smart diplomacy" has become a punch line about this administration's efforts.