THE BURNED OVER DISTRICT

John Kerry has his hands full trying to convince our staunchest "allies" in the Mid-East, Israel & Saudi Arabia, that we will continue to support them, we just won't go hell bent into combat for them.

Mr. Kerry is on the final leg of a three-day visit to European capitals themed around Middle East diplomacy, most notably American efforts to help start a peace conference on the Syrian conflict. But the trip has been punctuated by criticism directed at the United States from its main strategic allies, Saudi Arabia and Israel, and Mr. Kerry has been making an effort to assuage them both.

The Saudis, who are strong supporters of the Syrian insurgency, have been particularly upset over what they view as the Obama administration’s lack of resolve in pressuring the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, who is now in some ways stronger politically than he was a year ago. Last week the Saudis rejected taking a seat on the United Nations Security Council in part to express their displeasure.

They have also voiced alarm over the Obama administration’s steps toward rapprochement with Iran, Saudi Arabia’s main rival in the Middle East, and are fearful that the United States could make compromises in negotiations for a deal over Iran’s disputed nuclear program.

The Israelis are even more alarmed at the possibility that the United States might be too pliant in trying to pursue a compromise with Iran over the Iranian nuclear program, which Mr. Netanyahu has called a guise for weapons development and the most serious security threat facing his country.

Mr. Kerry’s public statements before his meeting with Mr. Netanyahu were largely focused on reassuring the Israelis.

“No deal is better than a bad deal,” Mr. Kerry said, a phrase that American officials have frequently used in recent weeks to try to reassure lawmakers in the United States as well as Israel and Persian Gulf states that the White House will not make risky concessions.

But Mr. Netanyahu listed a range of steps that Israel says Iran needs to take to demonstrate that it is not developing nuclear weapons, steps that appeared to go well beyond a compromise that the United States and other world powers are prepared to explore with Tehran. Iran insists its nuclear program is for civilian use only.

So the Saudis are pissed because we are not bombing the shit out of the Alawites and other heathen Shia in Syria. And Benny "Bugsy" Netanyahu is pissed because we are not bombing the shit out of Iran. And John Kerry should be telling them to go fuck themselves in the most polite and friendly way possible. Makes you wonder why he took the job.