Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren, outside the King David hotel
The Washington Post URL (the internet address for the piece) gives this piece away: “Get ready to fight Iran.” I wonder if that is a subversive act by a Washington Post editor. When the actual headline of the story is, “5 steps Obama can take to avert a strike on Iran.”
The piece is by Amos Yadlin, the head of Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies. Listen to him lecturing the President about US interests in the pages of the Washington Post! Obama must come to the Knesset! Notice him counseling belligerence and propaganda!
Only by framing a nuclear-armed Iran as an impermissible threat to the national interests of the United States and its allies in the Persian Gulf can President Obama bridge this gap between Israeli creed and need. He must convince Israel, Iran, Russia and even Saudi Arabia that the U.S. military option is credible and effective.
A gesture directly from Obama could do it. The U.S. president should visit Israel and tell its leadership — and, more important, its people — that preventing a nuclear Iran is a U.S. interest, and if we have to resort to military action, we will. This message, delivered by the president of the United States to the Israeli Knesset, would be far more effective than U.S. officials’ attempts to convey the same sentiment behind closed doors….
First, Obama should notify the U.S. Congress in writing that he reserves the right to use military force to prevent Iran’s acquisition of a military nuclear capability. This would show the president’s resolve, and congressional support for such a measure is likely to be strong…
Second, Washington should signal its intentions via a heightened U.S. military presence in the gulf, military exercises with Middle East allies and missile defense deployment in the region. Media coverage of these actions should be encouraged.
PS: Yadlin’s institute is where Hirsh Goodman works. Goodman is the husband of NYT correspondent Isabel Kershner)
More warmongering from the rightwing site, Israel National News, reporting on a story in the Sheldon Adelson newspaper. Again: this paper is owned by the man who is giving all that money to Romney. Is that a story? What is happening to the American agenda?
President Barack Obama, Congress and the American people would support Israel if it carried out a pre-emptive attack on Iran, Michael Oren, Israeli Ambassador to the United States, told Yisrael HaYom Sunday.
He told the Hebrew-language newspaper that he does not feel there is any pressure on Israel from the U.S. government not to act against Iran, which last week loudly proclaimed it wants to eliminate the State of Israel.
…”The Americans have listened to the Iranian leaders who want to destroy Israel,” Oren said in an interview with the newspaper during a short stay in Israel. “It is clear that the Americans are asking themselves, ‘What would we do if were in their place?'”
Oren is convinced that “if Israel decides to act against Iran, we will win wide support among the American people” and that the Obama administration “will continue to recognize our right to defend ourselves.” He added that an Israeli attack would not ruin American-Israeli relations.
Note that Abe Foxman agrees. He says that the duty of the New York Times is to put itself in Israel’s shoes.
Israel is our ally, with existential dangers facing it if Iran should gain a weapon. Putting oneself in Israel’s place should be the first order of business in trying to understand and comment on the situation. Unfortunately, this perspective was completely absent from your editorial.
obama’s job is not to “bridge this gap between Israeli creed and need”. and Putting oneself in Israel’s place should NOT be the first order of business.
we’re americans! get over it!
Clearly, to save the planet, we must raise gasoline prices from about 1 dollar/liter to 2 or 3. Much work to be done on domestic American front.
But one element that most commentators (and all Israeli commentators) ignore is tht there is a growing impatience in Asia with USA trying to dictate what Asians should do, especially if this is due to Israeli prodding. My prediction is that the current “crippling level” of sanctions is in the process of collapsing. The escalation of sanctions and threats gives opposite effect when it increasingly looses rational outlook. And the escalation of military (and commercial) threats contributes to that.
Who is that scary guy with the funny tiny little turban/raghead hat in the picture outside King David hotel?
Could it be an Iranian with a hat made of Semtex?
No… Iranians would probably have a top hat with room for a nuke!
And guys with tiny little hats would never ever blow up King David hotel…
Right yeah and if Obama doesn’t do the ‘must’ zio shopping list, what the heck are they gonna do about it? Fire him? Fire on him? Well what the heck what?????????
Who the eff are these ridiculous people?! And how come Phil Weiss has such a knack for finding them?
I wanted to check the full text of speeches in which Iranian leaders supposedly threaten to destroy Israel, but it ain’t easy. The hasbara network disseminates selected extracts but never full texts. Even the Wikipedia article on the subject quotes only these extracts and refers exclusively to Israeli sources. I checked the English-language sections of the sites of Iranian embassies in various countries, but they too are of no use.
Nevertheless, it is possible to draw some plausible inferences. None of the statements cited is ever a direct threat by Iran to initiate an attack on Israel. (If such direct threats were made, surely the lobby would broadcast them far and wide.) Iranian leaders do often say that if Israel attacks FIRST Iran will destroy Israel in retaliation. That is another matter entirely. They also say that “it is necessary to destroy” the Zionist state, but (it seems to me) without ever putting Iran forward as the agent that will accomplish this. The agent is described in vague terms like “the world’s Moslems and freedom lovers.” What role Iran is perceived as playing in achieving the goal is unclear — perhaps the full texts would throw some light on this, if they can be found anywhere.