Kudos to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for telling us what our president won’t about the real and varied threats that Iran poses to its neighbors and the rest of the world. Our president would rather try to rationalize with an irrational regime (which wants to blow Israel off the map) than meet with one of our greatest allies.

As I listened to the speech on March 3, I thought about Netanyahu’s wealth of education, historical wisdom, military experience and his true devotion to his country, our country and the world. I felt a stark comparison to our president whose every sentence seems to be defensive, or about his legacy, or an apology for his country. He refused to even listen to Netanyahu’s speech, much less go to greet him. Mind blowing.

Just who should we trust more on the stage of foreign affairs? Do we believe that the world can trust Iran as Barack Obama wants to think? We’re talking about a possible nuclear-armed Iran, among other very serious worldwide threats.

Why would our friends in the world ever think they could trust and rely on us when we cater to the likes of Iran and other oppressive countries? I believe Obama is taking a huge risk by ignoring advice from many of our own defense experts who know that a deal with Iran will be a bad idea. A risk that we could all pay for if he, like a kid on a playground, is allowed (again) to get his own way.

Patricia Maynard, Skowhegan