"Secretary Clinton meets with Secretary of Defense Bob Gates and National Security Advisor Tom Donilon, at the White House"

In what could be seen as yet another sign of the deterioration of Defense Minister Ehud Barak's international standing, the official U.S. State Department schedule failed to mention a meeting between Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the defense minister, Israeli daily Haaretz reported Thursday.

Barak, who arrived on an official U.S. visit late Tuesday, was scheduled to meet Secretary Clinton, Secretary of Defense Bob Gates, and National Security Advisor Tom Donilon in the White House.

However the State Department's official schedule failed to mention Barak in name, describing the meeting as: "Secretary Clinton meets with Secretary of Defense Bob Gates and National Security Advisor Tom Donilon, at the White House."

When asked to verify if the defense minister will indeed take part in the meeting, a White House spokesperson told Haaretz that Barak is indeed scheduled to take part in it.

The State Department released a clarification later Wednesday, stating that Secretary Clinton will join National Security Adviser Tom Donilon and Secretary Bob Gates at the White House for a meeting with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak," adding that participants would "discuss a range of issues, I'm certain that Egypt among them.‬"

US Committed to Israel's Security

At the end of the meetings, the White House announced Wednesday that the US will continue its "unshakeable commitment to Israel’s security, including through our continued support for Israel’s military and the unprecedented security cooperation between our two governments".

A White House statement noted that Barak and the US officials discussed "the latest developments in Egypt, the need to move forward on Middle East peace, efforts to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, and other regional and bilateral issues". They also agreed that the US and Israel would "continue to consult closely on common challenges and issues across our shared agenda".

Low-Profile Visit

In the past, Barak was received at the Pentagon with honor guard. This time, Barak’s visit is a low-profile one, with no press briefings scheduled before his departure to New-York, for a meeting with the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, Haaretz said.

In another recent sign of Barak's apparent political weakening, the defense minister was not included in the schedule of Spanish foreign minister Trinidad Jimenez, who visited Israel earlier this week. Instead, Jimenez made an appointment with the interim Labor chairman, Micha Harish, who had replaced Barak after the latter quit the Labor party to form a new faction, Atzmaut.

"After Barak left labor he has no political influence in the coalition," a Spanish diplomat said. "In political matters we will talk with Prime Minister Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Lieberman, and when our defense minister visits Israel she will meet with Barak and discuss with him security issues pertaining to his ministry, which are his responsibility."