The public confrontation between the Barack Obama administration and the Benjamin Netanyahu government, which includes also a personal conflict between Obama and Netanyahu, has two sides: a revealed facet and a hidden facet.

The revealed, publicized side is constantly in our face. Hardly a day goes by in which a new red line is not crossed. On Feb. 18, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said in a media briefing that his country still confers with Israel regarding the Iran nuclear talks but is concerned that leaked information could undermine the chances for success of the talks. He said, "There's no question that some of the things that the Israelis have said in characterizing our negotiating position have not been accurate." Earnest added that the United States would like to guarantee that information discussed in the talks will not be taken out of context or distorted.

Nothing like this has happened here before in the new era. “The only incident I can remember that bears similarity to this is the Pollard affair,” I was told this week by a high-ranking Israeli security source. “But then they had caught a spy from Israel in their holy of holies, so there was justification for the ruckus. Now, at such a sensitive juncture, they are openly showing that they don’t trust Israel. In fact, they are removing Israel from their deluxe guest suite in which it resided as a guest of honor for generations, and doing this in front of the cameras. Astonishing doesn’t begin to describe it.”

Behind the scenes, another more clandestine confrontation is raging. The United States is facing off against what were called (until very recently) “America’s allies in the Middle East,” namely Israel, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and other countries. This confrontation is quiet, restrained and perhaps only implicit, but its roots are combustible and contain potential for explosion. Many sources in the countries listed above feel that the United States is gearing up for a process of replacing its allies in the Middle East. No more Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Israel. Instead, Iran is supposed to replace them.