Back at them. What took them so long. I was inspired by her to write a book about someone who was cuckoo for cocoa puffs. Dont ask me. We can afford no retreads. Good evening from new york. Im chris hayes. Israel prepares to possibly launch a new war with hezbollah after two Israeli Soldiers were killed today. Relations between israel and the u. S. Appear to have reached their lowest point in recent memory, possibly in decades. President obama and israeli Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu have never been best of friends, but lobbying congress against one of the top Foreign Policy priorities, relationships between the two leaders may have gotten even worse. While the ploy has taken a toll on u. S. Israeli relations, its caused a big turnaround for president obama. From the president s own party, Senate Republicans looked like they might have the votes to advance new sanctions on iran despite the administrations objections, that sanctions would jeopardize the Ongoing Nuclear talks. Well, then john boehner and Benjamin Netanyahu entered the picture and tried to do an end run around the president , and now the whole thing has completely blown up in their faces. Last week boehner announced he had invited netanyahu. He explained his rationale in an intervoo with 60 minutes. Theres nobody in the world that can talk about the threat of radical terrorism, nobody can talk about the threat that the iranians pose, not just to the middle east and to israel, or longest ally, but the entire world than bb netanyahu. This problem is growing all over the world. The president is trying to act like its not there. But it is there. And its going to be a threat to our homeland if we dont address it in a bigger way. Netanyahu is scheduled to address a joint session of Congress March 3rd, two days after the u. S. Israel apac convenes in washington where they do a lot of lobbying on the hill and two weeks before netanyahus party stands for parliamentary elections in israel. The white house said it had not been informed of the invitation prior to its being made, describing it as, quote, a departure from protocol. And one official is saying, we thought weve seen everything. But bb managed to surprise even us. There are things you simply dont do. He spat in our face publicly, and thats no way to behave. To add insult to injury, according to the washington post, the announcement came just a day after secretary of state john kerry met for more than two hours with israels ambassador to the u. S. Who never once mentioned the invitation from boehner, or the prospect of a netanyahu visit. Citing the prospect of netanyahus visit, president obama has said he will not be meeting with his counterpart while hes in washington. I speak with Prime Minister netanyahu all the time. You know, were declining to meet with him simply because of our general policy is, we dont meet with any world leader two weeks before their election. I think thats inappropriate. Thats true with some of our closest allies. Condemnation of the plan to go behind president obamas back has been nearly unanimous. National director supports iran sanctions, called the invitation acceptance ill advised for either side. Netanyahus own former ambassador, now a parliamentary candidate, quote, they created even fox news expressed outrage at netanyahus move. It just seems like they think we dont pay any attention, and were just a bunch of complete morons, the United States is. Like we wouldnt pick up on whats happening here. For netanyahu to do something that is going to be seen as such a deliberate and really pretty egregious snub of president obama when obamas going to be in power for the next year and threequarters would seem to me to be a very risky political strategy for Prime Minister netanyahu. The visit was designed to boost netanyahus standing with his own constituents in israel. That appears to have backfired as well. Netanyahus visit has released a wave of backlash in his own country. People are now questioning his judgment. When it comes to netanyahu and boehner, repudiating president obama on sanctions, it appeared to have achieved the opposite effect. Ten Senate Democrats who support new sanctions Just Announced they will now wait to take a vote in order to give the Nuclear Talks a chance to progress, precisely the opposite of what both boehner and presumably Benjamin Netanyahu wanted of the earliest they now vote with be march 24th. Joining me chris murphy of connecticut. A member of the Senate Foreign relations committee. Have you ever seen anything like this, senator . Ive never seen anything like this. Its an exceptional breach of protocol. Its too bad, because all it is is a breach of protocol. Its not a break in policy. It masks the fact that the United States is still the strongest supporter in the world of israel, masks the fact that were standing together in the fight against terrorism. This quote from boehner that you played that the president is ignoring the threat posed to israel, our allies in the middle east and the United States, is ridiculous given the fact were spending billions of dollars as we speak right now leading the fight against isil. Unfortunately, it politicizes the u. S. Israeli relationship in a way thats not helpful to anybody. Theres a sort of significant substantive dispute here, i think the president and his people believe it is possible, they dont know if it is going to be achieved, but possible to achieve some kind of diplomat solution to Irans Nuclear program in which they halt any kind of Nuclear Weapons program in exchange possibly for Something Like diplomatic recognition, which would be a huge sea change in a whole bunch of stuff, right . Benjamin netanyahu, and many israelis think that is impossible. That is not a group you can negotiate with. Many republicans and Many Democrats in congress feel that way. Is that what you see as the fundamental issue at the heart of this . And where do you come down. Well, i think it is close to the fundamental disagreement. I think that the israelis believe that you could get a deal. But they dont trust that the iranians would hold to it. There are those of us who believe we can put into place a series of Intrusive Inspections that would gich us the ability to detect the moment at which they breach the deal and start moving toward a nuclear weapon. Its much better than the alternative, which is walk away from negotiations, and effectively leave military action as the only alternative. I think theres clearly a deal. But the president s people will not get a deal if we pass sanctions today. As the netanyahu government apparently wants us to do. So if netanyahus government is to settle talks, passing sanctions is a good way to do it. From left to right were supportive of a settlement of a negotiated deal. I think thats why youve seen a lot of my colleagues pull back from the sanctions bill. Thats optimistic and charitable on your part about your colleagues, because the fact of the matter is, two weeks ago i was actually going through a list. It wasnt hard to get to 60, maybe even 62, 63 votes for Something Like this. Theres been a sea change. It strikes me that part of it is the fallout from the netanyahu visit. There are a lot of folks on the democratic side of this who dont appear to not want a deal. Its hard for me to tell exactly how much the netanyahu protocol breach had to do with this change. Because last year, if you remember, we were arguing over sanctions as well. It looked like we might have had close to 60 votes. When the president started to forcefully lobby my colleagues, they started to back down. I think thats what you saw here as well, coincidental to this protocol issue. The president was making phone calls, was pitching the caucus, was speaking the state of the union speech. When he gets behind Something Like this, hes pretty persuasive. I think that had a lot more to do with it than the impact of this invitation to speak before the congress. Senator chris murphy, thank you, sir, appreciate it. Thanks. Benjamin netanyahu is vowing that whoever was behind todays attack on Israeli Soldiers near the lebanese border will, quote, pay the full price. Two soldiers were killed, seven others wounded when their convoy came under missile fire in a disputed area where the three countries converge. Hezbollah has claimed responsibility, indicating the attack was retaliation for an israeli air strike in syria ten days ago. That air strike killed six of hezbollahs fighters, including the son of its deceased military commander, as well as an iranian general. The u. S. State department counseled against any further escalation, also affirmed israels right to selfdefense. This is a situation where theres been an attack from hezbollah. Obviously we condemn that. Is our preference that there are no more attacks . Yes. But we also believe israel has the right to defend itself. Netanyahu has convened his security chiefs. They traded artillery fire for hours after the initial strike. Threatening to end the relative calm since their last conflict in 2006, and raising fears of yet another war. Im joined by nbc news foreign correspondent, ayman. Lets start, obviously its impossible to start these things, but lets start ten days with the strike that happened in syria. This is an israeli strike in syria. What happened there . We should be clear israel never claimed responsibility for it. All indications were hezbollah blamed a lot of people, even the israeli media was widely citing Security Forces claiming that it was israel behind it. In essence, israel carried out an air strike on a convoy inside syria, in that convoy was a Senior Member of hezbollah, the son of the deceased former leader who is also to have been killed by israel. In addition to that, was an iranian general. According to israeli sources, they werent aware that the iranian general was there. It seems the convoy that was targeted was just the hezbollah convoy. But it seems to have taken out a substantial figure within hezbollah. People called him a rising star within the organization. Now, in the response to that, hezbollah vowed to carry out retaliation, and that is what were seeing today. We now see israel weighing whether its going to launch further offensive. Lieberman, a far right member of the netanyahu cabinet, i saw some quote about, you know, disproportionate response, i think he said he wanted to promise. We saw Something Like this with hamas rocket fire in the gaza war last year. Whats the calculation here . What are you anticipating were going to see happen . Theres precedent in 2006, israel went to war against hezbollah and it was by all accounts a political disaster for the israeli leadership. It was a political and military one certainly. Early indications is both sides dont want a wider war. They certainly want to establish a deterrent. That was one of the things that was a casualty in the 2006 war for israel. Israel has always relied on the deterrent capability, that no group or country was able to sustain a long military campaign against it. Hezbollah did manage to do that. In the eyes of the supporters, hezbollah emerged victorious. But they also conceded that the cost of that war on lebanese Broader Society was devastating. So as a result of that, both sides right now realize that they could find themselves in a prolonged conflict without a clear victor. So the early analysis after this is what happened today, in terms of the retaliation israel carried out, a few artillery shells, is what both sides could withstand. Hezbollah, of course, has active fighters in what is now the most insanely complex war zone in the world, which is syria. They are allied with the iranians and with the assad regime in one kind of axis of fighters in that context. Hezbollah demonstrated the capability of fighting a guerrilla war against israel. It doesnt want to open a second front against israel when its involved in the ongoing fight inside syria. But they certainly have a pinpoint accuracy in carrying out these types of attacks, in a very limited, but potentially lethal way against Israeli Soldiers. Yet again a reminder of the vanishing probability that the war within syria stays within syria. The potential for it to just explode out of syria exists at every second. Ayman, thank you very much. Thank you. The republicans attended the confirmation hearing for loretta limplg. What would it look like if ok pile wall street was put in charge of the u. S. Government . We now have something close to a reallife version of that. Ill explain ahead. With cialis for daily use, you dont have to plan around either. Its the only daily tablet approved to treat erectile dysfunction so you can be Ready Anytime the moment is right. Plus cialis treats the frustrating urinary symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently, day or night. Tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medicines, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sex. Do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain as it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. Do not drink alcohol in excess. Side effects may include headache, upset stomach, delayed backache or muscle ache. To avoid longterm injury, get medical help right away for an erection lasting more than four hours. If you have any sudden decrease or loss in hearing or vision or any symptoms of an allergic reaction stop taking cialis and get medical help right away. Why pause the moment . Ask your doctor about cialis for daily use. For a free 30tablet trial go to cialis. Com ghostbusters is set for a remake out july of next year and it will feature all female leads. Sort of a different gender dynamic from the original. Chris tin wiig, melissa mccarthy, jennifer jones, who are you going to call now. Theres been backlash that will say the new cast will destroy their manful childhood memories. But most people like me are completely stoked for it. Also, apparently battling ghosts is not as bad as working in silicon valley. In the Madison Square garden. If confirmed, the top federal prosecutor in brooklyn will be the first black woman to serve as attorney general of the United States in its history. Lynch is also the first obama cabinet nominee to go before the Senate Since Republicans won control of it back in november. And as senator Patrick Leahy is quick to point out she is well liked across the ideological spectrum. Bill oreilly on fox called you a hero, and said, quote, you should be respected by all americans for standing up to gross injustice. Theres one dominant theme in todays hearing that had little to do with miss lynchs own record and everything to do with the record of her wouldbe boss. I would like to remind my colleagues that the president S Immigration policies are not seeking confirmation today. Loretta lynch is. Thats an adorable try, senator shumer, but thats not happening. The issue of immigration specifically president obamas executive actions on immigration which have the legal blessing of the department of justice, it was the very first question. Do you believe that the president has the Legal Authority to unilaterally deportations in a blanket imaginer for millions of people and grant them permits and other benefits other than what the constitution immigration laws say . I dont see any reason to doubt the reasonableness of those views. Also at issue, the man who approved the president s executive action on immigration, the current attorney general. Let me just stipulate youre not eric holder, are you . No, im not, shir. You wouldnt be consider yourself to be a political arm of the white house, as attorney general, would you. No, sir, that would be an inappropriate view of the position of attorney general. The immigration issue certainly dominated the hearing, it wasnt the only line of questioning lynch faced from the republican majority. Whats the legal difference between a state a ban on samesex marriage being unconstitutional, but a ban on polygamy being unconstitutional . Can you tell how one is banned and the other not. Ive not been involved in the cases before the supreme court. Im not comfortable undertaking legal analysis without having had the ability to undertake a review of the relevant facts and the precedent there. Do you believe, and do you support legalization of marijuana . Senator, i do not. Content of some of the questions of the tone of todays hearing seemed cordial. Right now the chances of receiving enough votes seems pretty good. You worked at the doj. I thought Loretta Lynch was basically unflappable as republicans tried to flap her. Thats exactly right, chris. She was a rock star. She was who she is, a prosecutor, a law and order person, someone who cares about following the law, understanding her role as a potential attorney general in the executive branch. This is really one of the most qualified nominees for attorney general that weve seen. Shes been twice a u. S. Attorney. She has a record on terrorism prosecutions, as well as a range of other highprofile criminal and civil matters. They couldnt touch Loretta Lynch today. They did not lay a glove on her, metaphorically. But there is Something Interesting about this, the role of attorney general, which theres some sort of really fascinating constitutional ambiguity. Attorney generals in the president s candidate, but theres this tradition of independence. I think what the senators were trying to get at, you know, in good faith, i think its a genuine line of inquiry, just where she will rank in that. I mean, what is the right answer . Is