Obama called Netanyahu this morning. The White House Press Secretary’s readout is cool. There is not a word offered to save Netanyahu from his embarrassing speech before the UN, and the White House uses the vague “do what we must” to stop Iran language that Obama used at the U.N. Nothing about red lines.
President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu spoke today as part of their regular consultations, and to follow up on Secretary Clinton’s meeting with the Prime Minister. The two leaders discussed a range of security issues, and the President reaffirmed his and our country’s unshakeable commitment to Israel’s security. The two leaders underscored that they are in full agreement on the shared goal of preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. The Prime Minister welcomed President Obama’s commitment before the United Nations General Assembly to do what we must to achieve that goal. The two leaders took note of the close cooperation and coordination between the Governments of the United States and Israel regarding the threat posed by Iran – its nuclear program, proliferation, and support for terrorism – and agreed to continue their regular consultations on this issue going forward.
And Romney called him this afternoon!
A friend writes: “During a CNN segment just now on the ‘cool’ Bibi-Obama relationship, the anchor (Suzanne Malveaux) was magically tipped off about the following: ‘Breaking, I’ve actually just been told that Netanyahu and Romney are on the phone at this moment.’ Romney is really playing that Bibi card.” And vice versa.
Bibi’s “worst bloody thing that could happen to Israel” sketch at the UN wasn’t a patch on Dudley Moore and Peter Cook
link to youtube.com
indeed ..
what if, while Bibi was distracting everyone with laughter, antisemitic nazi ants crept into Israel and ate everyone alive!
This administration statement is not news — that is simple routine boiler plate. News would have been the cancellation of that “consultation”. This practice, nevertheless, is demeaning for the US to continue paying obeisance to that pipsqueak country. Soon, let us all hope, it will be terminated. Now that would be news.
Something is missing in Netanyahoo’s discourse, then again what is left out may point to the lack of credibility in claiming Iran is on the cusp of developing and using a major nuclear weapon.
Iranian state sponsored\financed terrorism and the fact that if they have fissile material they can make a dirty bomb for their buddies in Hezbollah. Either of these two alone are strong enough to make a case for attack on Iran, further sanctions, or at least hey lets talk about what do to prevent either from happening\continuing.
Why the emphasis on something they don’t have and are not likely to be able to deliver effectively even if they are able to develop the weapon? Maybe its a stupid point, but it looks strange to me and I am asking does the emphasis on what is not there actually indicate something else.
And why is Netanyahoo limited to poster board while presenting such a serious subject? Kennedy had better props in 1962. Khrushchev used a shoe to greater effect in 1960.
ah, I’ve just been tipped off, magically of course, the action against Iran will be named Operation Farce or Hay Fever, they are as yet undecided.
Romney jokes about Netanyahu’s UN bomb graphic:
link to democraticunderground.com
Unsure if this video of rabbis meeting Iranian President in NYC has been posted here yet:
link to youtube.com
Dr. Alan Sabrosky offers MCS his thoughts briefly on the Bibi-Barack spat:
“Yeah, the Bibi-Barack spat is in full swing. Joint Chiefs here are decidedly unenthusiastic about yet another war in that part of the world, from what I read & hear. Real concern as I see it is that the following scenario will unfold, if it looks like Romney will lose in November (if it looks like he will win, then Bibi will hold off, given the near-certain prospect that a President Romney will join him in an open, coordinated attack on Iran):
(1) Israel attacks Iran on its own; (2) Iran – justifiably believing that the US is behind or at least complicit in the Israeli attack, simply because the US has armed, funded, supported & protected Israel for decades – attacks the US 5th Fleet and perhaps adjacent US bases in the region; at which point (3) the US counter-attacks Iran, joining Israel sequentially if not concurrently in the war, all the while bleating to the American public that the US is simply defending itself against ye old Iranian warmongers and fanatics.
(From Debbie Menon’s My Catbird Seat)
Citizen,
What if Iran decides to retaliate against israel and israel only? For instance, an attack on israel’s Damona equals an attack on Iran’s nuclear plants. And what if the White House, with the support of the majority of Americans, sees israel as having started a most dangerous war despite the White House’s public warnings against it, and refuses therefore to get involved in an israel/iran war – just as long as our soldiering men and ‘other’ assets in the mideast are left well alone. Where does that leave israel and it’s hold on our congress?
You know what I think? I reckon Obama already told the israelis that he WON’T back them if they go it alone on their own time-table and that’s the reason they’re freaking the deek out. Especially that Obama also passed the message onto Iran that he would NOT get involved UNLESS our men or assets are attacked by Iranians.
In other words, Obama made his stance very clear to both sides. Leave us the heck out of it, he said to both.
@ Taxi
In your scenario, what the majority of Americans will think will be what the US mainstream media portrays, and the US Congress will be calling loudly to help our bestest ally in the whole wide world, the one with the most Judeo-Christian values. Congress has already resolved to make it easy for our POTUS to join Israel’s attack. That would be Sabrosky’s scenario # 3. An enhancing twist to move such scenario along would be Israel attacks a US asset under a false Iranian flag, hopefully killing US sailors (a la USS Liberty). All of this happening regardless if Obama “made his stance very clear to both sides,” which may well be true–I read he signaled both quite a while ago that he would not help nor hinder an Israeli attack on Iran.
On another note, but still regarding what the US mainstream media allows and what it bans, what do you think of this video regarding NYC jews who proclaim they are anti-Zionist & want all Americans to know the difference?
What
Ahmadinejad did on Monday afternoon went unreported in US news media:
link to president.ir /
Citizen,
Less and less Americans are drinking the israeli koolaid poured out by the main stream media. We know from recent polls that the majority of Americans want money spent on our country and not on another war in the mideast. Congress can’t force the president into a war with their Mickey Mouse “non-binding” anti-iran resolutions, and a re-elected Obama will have four years to steer America away from the cusp of world war 3 without fear of electoral backlash.
I dunno Citizen, it sure don’t look like the israelis and their zionist pals in the American congress or the media are having a good day of it. And a bad day for zionism is most certainly a frigging fantastic day for America!
As to Ahmadinejad’s ‘world democracy’ idea, I think he proposes this every time he comes to the UN and no one listens – except for genuine moralists and students.
A little out of the box, but a great investment thesis. Iran smokes the the Saudi-Kuwaiti oil fields immediately(look at the map they are confined to the northeast corner of the Saudi coastline 2 hours away) then follows up on the offshore rigs in the Gulf at their leisure with small boats. Barrel of oil goes to $300-$750 in minutes. Counter-parties start failing to deliver. Massive dumping of everything to cover sky-rocketing margined derivative loses just like 2007, except on steroids.
Conspicuously, no Israeli or American targets are hit, at first? Not yet.
Cash is king if you can identify a survivable financial counter-party for this next big short? Iran can still give the American Fleets a big “sunburn” as long as they can maintain the capacity. Use or lose it will give them some breathing room on the “sunburn”s. Israel sails into oblivion and no one notices, just disappears from the press as the Western financial system swirls down the drain.
Oh, what a hangover the next day!
Hej! Tumta
P.S. Survivable counter-parties seem to be the big issue and Iran is flush with gold from the sanctions.