And yet Dems and liberal pundits will swear up and down Obama is pro-Israel

(Reuters) — Defense Secretary Leon Panetta urged Israel on Friday to get back to the “damn” negotiating table with Palestinians and take steps to address what he described as the Jewish state’s growing isolation in the Middle East.

Panetta, addressing a forum in Washington, also made one of his most extensive arguments to date against any imminent military action against Iran over its nuclear program, saying he was convinced that sanctions and diplomatic pressure were working.

“You always have the last resort . . . of military action. But it must be the last resort, not the first,” Panetta said.

Militarily strong, Israel is battling a diplomatic storm as Arab uprisings upset once-stable relationships in the Middle East. But Panetta warned Israel against viewing uprisings like the one in Egypt that toppled president Hosni Mubarak as an excuse to enter a defensive crouch.